Afghanistan - UNICEF: 14-Dec-01
UNICEF Humanitarian Action
Afghanistan Crisis
Donor Update
14 December 2001
EMERGENCY OPERATIONS CONTINUE; PLANNING FOR RECOVERY UNDERWAY
- UNICEF and partners distribute children's clothes, family kits, winter
boots and plastic sheeting to IDPs
- Measles campaign aims to cover 7 million children in Afghanistan
- 39% of funding needs covered to date
1. EMERGENCY OVERVIEW AND CURRENT SITUATION
Scaling up relief and recovery; assessments underway
The immediate priority for humanitarian agencies in Afghanistan is to save
lives during the winter. UN agencies and NGOs are carrying out rapid
assessments to get a clearer picture of needs in areas of the country that
are now accessible. While providing urgently needed food and non-food
relief, aid agencies continue to support projects that existed before the
11 September crisis and are expanding these to cover more beneficiaries
and wider geographical areas. In a changing Afghanistan, opportunities now
exist to start reconstructing a decimated social sector and to move away
from smaller, locality-based projects to country-wide interventions,
covering larger population groups. The departure of the restrictive
Taliban regime has given way to political climate that is more favourable
to inclusive programmes such as formal education for girls and the return
of women to employment. All aid agencies, including UNICEF, have revised
their financial requirements upward to meet these enormous challenges and
to ensure that all Afghans can benefit from their basic rights.
2. UNICEF RESPONSE: ACTIVITIES AND ACHIEVEMENTS
UNICEF's Executive Director concludes her trip to Afghanistan and Pakistan
On 5 December UNICEF Executive Director, Carol Bellamy, concluded a
five-day visit to Afghanistan and Pakistan. In Islamabad, Ms. Bellamy met
with UNICEF staff and participated at UN media briefing/interviews. She
also met with senior Pakistani officials, UN Heads of Agencies and
attended a reception for key government NGO/donor and UN counterparts. The
Kabul itinerary included visits to a home-based school, to non-formal
education classes for women, to Malalai maternity hospital, and to
landmine awareness clinic for IDP children. In addition, she held talks
with female social mobilisers, a meeting with UN heads of offices, and was
briefed by the Mine Action Programme for Afghanistan. In Peshawar visit
she visited Kotkai refugee camp and the education initiatives for Afghan
community members, and attended talks with senior representatives of the
Government of Pakistan. In Quetta she visited the UNICEF office (damaged
by rioters in October) and had talks with senior Pakistani officials.
Field updates from Afghanistan
UNICEF currently has more than 60 staff in Afghanistan, four
international. They continue to support ongoing project activities with
NGO partners, including distribution of emergency relief while
participating in rapid assessments to determine needs in the post-conflict
situation. The following are the most recent field reports from different
regions of the country:
Kabul
UNICEF and OXFAM are collaborating to distribute winter clothes, shoes and
blankets for 3,000 Hazara children, mainly in Bamiyan, Yakawlang and
Panjao. The relief items had been delivered earlier to the OXFAM office
in Panjao.
UNOCHA has called for meetings between relief agencies to discuss
coordination related to the return of IDPs in the Panjshir Valley to the
Shomali Plains. UNHCR is currently conducting a survey amongst IDPs in
Panshjir and in the ex-Soviet compound in Kabul, to identify places of
origin and gauge the willingness to return. All food and non-food relief
by all UN and concerned NGOs are being coordinated to avoid overlap.
UNICEF has engaged three NGOs (ACTED, AMI and ACDO) to provide such
non-food items such as children's clothes, family kits, winter boots and
plastic sheeting for 3,477 IDP families in Panjshir. Also, since the
Shomali Plains are heavily mined and affected by cluster bombs, de-mining
has emerged as a top priority ahead of organizing the returns.
UNICEF, CDAP/UNOPS and HIFA organized an informal event to mark
International Disability Day on 3 December. More than 300 children, with
their parents and teachers attended the event, which featured speeches by
organizers and children, skits, songs, and an exhibition of artwork by
disabled children.
As a follow-up to the visit by UNICEF Executive Director, UNICEF-Kabul
conducted a survey of home-based schools, on 6-8 December. Updated data
(total numbers of boys, girls, teachers and classrooms) will be used to
identify supply requirements for the continuation of home-based education
during the winter. UNICEF engaged 45 female teachers and students from
home-based and informal schools for the survey.
In consultation with the Department of Education in Kabul City, UNICEF
engaged two engineers to assess the rehabilitation needs of six primary
schools in the Afghan capital. The assessment and costing have been
completed, and the Ministry of Education is preparing a final proposal.
The possibility of partial funding by the DfID quick impact project is
being discussed.
Under an agreement with IAM and Ertebat, an arrangement has been reached
for Ertebat to deliver and distribute school supplies to 10,000 children
in Lal wa Sarjangal in Hazarajat, and for IAM to supervise the
distribution and monitor the schooling. School supplies have been
prepared for dispatch this week.
The protection officer from the Office of the Special Representative for
Afghan Children visited Kabul, on 6-9 December, to help the sub-office
define possible activities in the protection area. Meetings with
concerned agencies, including UNHCR, ICRC and SCF-US discussed future
collaboration in various areas such as the demobilization of child
soldiers, landmine awareness and child labour. There were active exchanges
of views with female and male professionals in Afghanistan's judicial
system on future interventions in the area of juvenile justice.
Herat
The sub-office on 8 December received 300 mattresses, 5,000 children's
sweaters, and 4,000 heating stoves from Mashhad. More winter emergency
relief items, including one rub-hall, are expected to arrive this week
from Mashad.
Two UNICEF-supported health clinics in the Maslakh IDP camps have been
provided with 14 heating stoves and fuel. More than 20,000 women and
children are expected to utilize the clinics in the winter months.
As part of its emergency nutrition intervention in the Western Region,
UNICEF has provided 1,400 kg of UNIMIX to the NGO MDM, for its
supplementary feeding programme in the Gazerga and Minarets IDP camps, and
in the IDP settlement area of Babe- Barq. UNICEF also provided technical
advice to implement supplementary feeding for 825 children under the age
of five.
UNICEF and partner NGO CHA have made preparations for nutrition
interventions in the most vulnerable and soon-to-be- inaccessible district
of Chakcharan of Ghor Province. This week, UNICEF plans to dispatch 51 MT
of UNIMIX and 9.5 MT of vegetable oil to ensure supplementary feeding for
1,344 children under five, and 2,867 pregnant and lactating women. Three
other neighbouring districts will be covered next, subject to the arrival
of UNIMIX from Quetta or Turkmenistan.
An Acute Respiratory Infection case management workshop was held on 8-10
December at Ministry of Public Health-Herat, benefiting 15 female NGOs
health workers, active in all IDP camps in and around Herat.
Faizabad
UNICEF supported the distribution of non-food items amongst 450 IDP
families in Argu District on 8-9 December. Each family received two
blankets, two pairs of plastic shoes (small and large sizes), and one
child-size and one adult-size sweater. One family unit has an average of
six members.
UNICEF is exploring the possible distribution of non-food items (sweaters,
blankets, shoes) to benefit widows, the disabled and other vulnerable
groups in districts affected by drought. The distribution may be in
conjunction with WFP wheat distribution, as there is already a mechanism
in place. Discussions are ongoing with the NGO NAC for distribution in
the Ragh District next week.
Jalalabad
On December 3 and 8, a consignment of used items of clothing for children
were transported to Jalalabad in two convoys of seven trucks from
Peshawar. The supplies were part of German NGO donation, with UNICEF
facilitating the distribution. The items were sent directly to the NGOs
ARC and RSSA for distribution in the Noorgal, Behsud and Sarkhano
Districts, based on earlier distribution plans.
Measles campaign to start soon
Approximately 36,000 children die every year of measles in Afghanistan.
Vaccination coverage is still low at around 37 % for children below one
year of age. Although the Expanded Programme on Immunisation (EPI),
introduced to Afghanistan in 1985, has been one of the few achievements in
the health sector, it has not been able to establish the extensive network
of health facilities needed to achieve and sustain high coverage of
routine antigens. Widespread population displacement and restrictive
socio- cultural factors are also responsible for high measles-induced
deaths. Most children in remote villages have never been vaccinated
against measles or other diseases.
UNICEF's goal for measles immunisation in Afghanistan is to vaccinate all
Afghan children aged 6 months to 12 years across the country. Already
around one million children between 6 months and 12 years were vaccinated
in earlier campaigns, implemented by UNICEF, WHO and local authorities,
and which took place in July and August 2001 in the southern, western,
northern and northeastern regions of Afghanistan. After September, the
campaign was temporarily suspended because of the crisis.
The remaining seven million children will be covered in phases starting
this month and continuing through August 2002. A mass measles campaign is
planned for Kabul for late December and aims to vaccinate 1.2 million
children. UNICEF already has some 6.3 million vaccines and auto-destruct
syringes (of the 9 million required) in stock and in the pipeline.
UNICEF continues to assist refugees in Pakistan
As the relocation of refugees from old camps or urban areas in Pakistan
has began, UNICEF has been the lead agency in providing water, sanitation
and health facilities in the newly established camps of Kotkai in North
West Frontier Province and Mohammed Khail in Balochistan.
In Kotkai, UNICEF, through implementing partner PDK, a Pakistani NGO, has
built 400 pit latrines and installed 385,000 litre water tanks. In
Mohammed Khail, UNICEF is rehabilitating the existing water system,
installing water tanks as well as constructing washing areas and 250 pit
latrines.
In both camps, UNICEF has set-up facilities to provide basic health
services. Currently all new arrivals undergo a medical screening and all
children under 15 are vaccinated for measles and polio. In addition,
UNICEF is providing ongoing supplies of essential drugs, vaccines and
staffing to operate the basic health units.
In Basu camp, another new refugee camp in North West Frontier Province
(NWFP), UNICEF provided 9 tents, 2 health kits and essential drugs to the
Basic Health Unit (BHU). The supplies should cater to the needs of the
expected 10,000 refugees for up to three months. The BHU will consist of
two consultation rooms for male and female, EPI room, Mother-Child Health
services, and an emergency ward with a capacity of two beds, health
education/ORT corner and a pharmacy.
To assess the nutritional status of Afghan refugees, in collaboration with
UNHCR and SCF-UK, UNICEF is conducting a nutritional survey in four of
Pakistan's largest cities as well as in the provinces of Balochistan and
NWFP. The survey, which is both qualitative and quantitative in scope, has
started in old camps in Quetta, where many of the most recent refugee
influx are living. The survey in Balochistan is expected to be completed
by the end of December and will then begin in Peshawar.
3. REQUIREMENTS AND RECEIPTS
UNICEF increases resource requirements
UNICEF has rapidly increased its resource requirements since the launch of
the first donor alert on 27 September 2001 from an initial figure of US$
36 million to US$ 108 million. In September 2001, UNICEF decided to appeal
for a relatively modest figure to ensure that programmes were implemented
well. However, in November, UNICEF decided to triple its request for donor
funding, due to strong donor support during the first few weeks of the
appeal. Additionally, given the sub-regional nature of the Afghan crisis,
UNICEF has set up a regional support mechanisms, used "surge capacity" to
bring in more than 70 additional international staff and invested in
logistics, transport and communications capacity during the first few
weeks of October. This enabled UNICEF with partners, to rapidly increase
the delivery of humanitarian assistance inside Afghanistan, whilst
preparing for possible influxes of refugees into neighbouring countries.
Experience during the last few weeks has also shown that the opportunity
to collaborate with community groups and local NGOs is strong. The
planning for recovery has begun, and UNICEF is at the centre of education
and child protection recovery programmes. Central to this will be the
restoration of education, getting children back into an education process,
that will, in addition to providing education, help in restoring some
normality to their lives.
To date, UNICEF has received US$ 42.5 million in contributions, funding
39% of the revised appeal, with further pledges of US$ 5.2 million. Thus,
overall, a funding gap of US$ 65.5 million exists.
DONOR CONTRIBUTIONS/PLEDGES AS OF 12 DECEMBER 2001
DONOR AMOUNT (US$) DONOR AMOUNT (US$)
Donor Amount Donor Amount
Governments UNICEF Natcoms
Received Received
Japan 7,840,000 United Kingdom 2,116,368
United States* 6,150,000 Germany 1,862,008
Italy 6,103,630 Japan 1,715,164
United Kingdom 4,347,840 France 638,590
Netherlands 2,475,165 Italy 497,961
Sweden 1,897,533 Canada 316,455
Denmark 1,234,600 Ireland 250,000
ECHO 902,115 US Fund 250,000
Norway 866,173 Korea 200,000
Finland 764,491 Finland 169,066
France 559,960 Netherlands 139,593
Canada 443,038 Portugal 130,000
US Red Cross 125,000 Australia 120,498
Luxembourg 68,290 Belgium 102,435
Amount received 33,777,835 Austria 66,733
Spain 54,637
Sweden 46,729
Denmark 37,037
Norway 22,753
Amount received 8,736,027
Pledged Pledged
United Kingdom 2,898,551 Sweden 39,000
Belgium 1,126,788 Poland 37,037
Norway 910,125 Amount pledged 76,037
Canada 189,873
Amount pledged 5,125,337
Sub-total 38,903,172 Sub-total 8,812,064
Grand Total 47,715,236
* Includes contributions of OFDA and BPRM
In addition, the Norwegian Government has provided in-kind contributions
totalling US$ 2,060,000 and comprising of winterised tents with heaters
(US$ 319,000), therapeutic feeding (BP5) (US$ 725,000), Rubbhall
warehousing (US$ 105,000), blankets (US$ 307,000), water supplies (US$
250,000) and telecommunications equipment (US$ 354,000). The US Government
has provided 1,000 rolls of plastic sheeting and 250,000 blankets. Other
donations-in-kind are in process.
Details of the UNICEF Afghanistan Programme can be obtained from:
Nigel Fisher
UNICEF Special Representative
Afghanistan Sub-Regional Programme
Tel: 92 51 221948-51
Fax: 92 51 212836
E-mail: nfisher@unicef.org
Robin Medforth-Mills
UNICEF EMOPS
Geneva
Tel: + 41 22 909 5554
Fax: + 41 22 909 5902
E-mail: rmmills@unicef.org
Dan Rohrmann
UNICEF PFO
New York
Tel: + 1 212 326 7009
Fax: + 1 212 326 7165
E-mail: drohrmann@unicef.org
distributed by
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Center for International Disaster Information
Volunteers in Technical Assistance
web: www.cidi.org
listserv: www.cidi.org/listsub.htm
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Central Asia www.cidi.org/humanitarian/hsr/centralasia