U.S. AGENCY FOR INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT
BUREAU FOR DEMOCRACY, CONFLICT, AND HUMANITARIAN ASSISTANCE (DCHA)
OFFICE OF U.S. FOREIGN DISASTER ASSISTANCE (OFDA)
CENTRAL ASIA TASK FORCE
CENTRAL ASIA REGION - Complex Emergency
Fact Sheet #39, Fiscal Year (FY) 2002    December 31, 2001


Note: This Fact Sheet updates previously released Central Asia Region Fact
Sheets and Situation Reports.

Numbers Affected

- According to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of
Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA), 7.5 million Afghans are in urgent need of
humanitarian assistance including food, shelter, health, education, and
demining initiatives.


Relief Activities

- On December 31, the UN World Food Program (WFP) announced that they have
dispatched 114,000 MT of food into Afghanistan during the month of
December.  This record level of food delivered in a single month will
cover the food needs of six million Afghans for two months.  WFP reported
that their efforts in Afghanistan, along with their partner
non-governmental organizations (NGOs), currently constitute the largest,
most complicated, and one of the most dangerous food aid programs ever
carried out by WFP in its nearly 40 years of existence.

- On December 30, UNICEF and WHO inaugurated a countrywide measles
vaccination program.  It will start in Kabul on January 1, 2002 and
continue in other areas of the country during the subsequent three months.
The aim is to reach at least nine million children, including displaced
children and children in areas most difficult to access.  UNICEF reported
that the average number of children who die from measles in Afghanistan is
estimated at 35,000 per year.  This accounts for approximately 40 percent
of all vaccine-preventable childhood deaths in the country.  Even with the
vaccination campaign, this number could be higher in 2002 due to drought-
and conflict-related poverty, lack of health services, and poor nutrition.


Security

- On December 31, Afghanistan's Interior Minister Yunus Qanooni and
Britain's Major General John McColl initialed the agreement on the
deployment of the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) troops.
Last week, the UN Security Council authorized an international security
force for Afghanistan - led by Britain, but also with troops from Germany,
Italy, Belgium and other countries - to assist the interim government in
the maintenance of security in Kabul and surrounding areas.  Additional
troops could begin arriving in Kabul next week, but the bulk of the
5,000-strong multinational force is expected to take up to four weeks to
deploy.


Population Movements

- On December 31, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) reported
that, with security and political stability progressively returning to
Afghanistan, tens of thousands of refugees and internally displaced
persons (IDPs) are returning to their homes despite landmines and the
massive destruction in many areas caused by two decades of war and
drought.  UNHCR reported that in the last two months, an estimated 60,000
refugees returned home from Pakistan and Iran, while more than 30,000
internally displaced Afghans have arrived in Kabul since late November.

- Many refugees and IDPs are going to Kabul, due to its relative security
and perceived economic opportunities, even if they originate from other
regions.  There is some concern among aid officials that the city's
absorptive capacity may be overtaxed.  UNHCR has stated that they would
assist the needs of spontaneous returnees upon arrival in Afghanistan, but
could not facilitate returns by refugees to areas outside their original
homes.

- On December 31, UNHCR also reported that the number of refugees
returning to Afghanistan from Pakistan through the Chaman border crossing
has been decreasing overall: on December 27, 3,800 refugees crossed back
into Afghanistan; on December 28, 1,500 crossed; on December 29, 3,000
crossed; and on December 30, 2,500 crossed.  UNHCR had no explanation for
these fluctuating numbers.

- On December 31, UNHCR transferred an estimated 1,400 Afghan refugees
from the makeshift Jalozai camp, east of Peshawar in Pakistan's Northwest
Frontier Province (NWFP) to Kotkai and Old Bagzai, respectively in Bajaur
and Kurram Agencies. The convoy to Kotkai transported approximately 1,000
individuals, while the convoy to Old Bagzai carried approximately 400
individuals. Starting January 2, 2002, UNHCR will increase the relocation
rate to 2,000 refugees each day in order to meet its target of 10,000
transfers per week. The relocation program began on November 19.

- On December 31, UNHCR, in collaboration with the International
Organization for Migration (IOM), undertook its first assisted return of
IDPs, with more than 600 people returning from the Panjshir Valley to the
homes they fled three years ago in the Shomali Plain east of Kabul.
UNHCR plans to continue assisted return to the Shomali Plain on a daily
basis.  Approximately 200,000 people fled the region between 1998 and
2000, during fighting between Taliban and Northern Alliance forces.
UNHCR provided shelter rehabilitation materials to the returnees, and the
return was preceded by a mine clearance operation in villages and adjacent
fields.


U.S. Government Activities

Disaster Declarations & Background

- On October 4, 2001, Assistant Secretary of State for South Asian Affairs
Christina B. Rocca redeclared a complex humanitarian disaster for
Afghanistan for FY 2002.

- On October 10, 2001, U.S. Chargé d'Affaires James A. Boughner declared a
disaster for Tajikistan due to drought.


FY 2002 USG Assistance to Afghanistan

Total USAID/OFDA	$69,323,036
Total USAID/FFP 	$40,555,000
Total USAID/OTI	$1,687,820
Total State/PRM	$32,260,000
Total DOD*	$50,897,769

TOTAL USG Humanitarian Assistance FY 2002	$194,723,625
TOTAL USG Humanitarian Assistance FY 2001	$183,107,625

TOTAL USG Humanitarian Assistance to Afghanistan FY 2001/2002	$377,831,250



FY 2002 USG Assistance to Tajikistan

Total USAID/OFDA	$998,180
Total USAID/FFP	$20,000,000
TOTAL USG Humanitarian Assistance to Tajikistan FY 2002	$20,998,180
TOTAL USG Humanitarian Assistance to Tajikistan FY 2001	$67,210,000

TOTAL USG Humanitarian Assistance to Tajikistan FY 2001/2002
$88,208,180


Note: Full details of funding above are available in weekly USAID/OFDA
Central Asia Region Situation Reports.

* Note: DOD funding totals are estimates.


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