U.S. AGENCY FOR INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT
BUREAU FOR HUMANITARIAN RESPONSE (BHR)
OFFICE OF U.S. FOREIGN DISASTER ASSISTANCE (OFDA)
AFGHANISTAN - Complex Emergency
Fact Sheet #4 FY2001    September 28, 2001


Note: this Fact Sheet updates previously released USAID/OFDA reports on
Afghanistan.

Numbers Affected

UNHCR reported September 27 that small groups of Afghans, numbering in the
hundreds, are crossing the Afghanistan-Pakistan border at little-used
points and proceeding to towns and old Afghan refugee settlements.

UNHCR reported September 25 that up to 20,000 Afghans are waiting on the
Afghan side of the Chaman border crossing near Quetta, Baluchistan. The
Pakistan border remains officially closed.  In addition to up to 20,000
waiting to cross at Chaman, there are also unspecified numbers massing at
Torkham, near Peshawar, according to UNOCHA.

There are no new reports of Afghans crossing into Iran.

To date, some 15,000 Afghan refugees have arrived in Pakistan via the
Chaman border crossing, according to UNHCR.  Of these, 10,000 are residing
with host families in Quetta, while 5,000 are camped near the border.


Relief and Contingency Efforts - Regional

On September 27, UNOCHA issued a Donor Alert calling for $584,035,632 in
funding for humanitarian assistance and protection programs for up to 7.5
million Afghans.

UNHCR reported September 27 that its worst-case contingency planning
scenario involves a total of 1.5 million Afghan refugees, including up to
1,000,000 to Pakistan, 400,000 to Iran, 50,000 to Turkmenistan, 50,000 to
Tajikistan, and 10,000 to Uzbekistan.  UNHCR has increased its anticipated
funding needs to $268 million (included in the Donor Alert), which
includes $44 million for transport and logistics, $27 million for water,
and $10 million each for health and sanitation needs.

WFP is airlifting 265 MT of high energy biscuits, enough to feed nearly a
million people for one day, to Pakistan, Iran and Turkmenistan.  A
delivery of 200 MT of biscuits will arrive in Peshawar on September 28,
100 MT of which will be transported by truck to Quetta.  On September 29,
50 MT of biscuits will be delivered to Mashad in northeast Iran, followed
by 15 MT to Ashgabat in southern Turkmenistan on September 30.


Current Situation - Afghanistan

On September 28, FAO reiterated earlier warnings that large proportions of
the Afghan population are facing starvation.  According to FAO,
Afghanistan's 2001-2002 marketing year cereal import requirements are
expected to rise to an unprecedented level of about 2.2 million MT, which
would include 1.4 million MT in food aid needs.

WFP reported September 27 that contrary to earlier reports, although
Taliban officials have seized WFP's office and communications equipment in
Kandahar, local relief workers are still in control of WFP's food stocks.

WFP reported September 27 that market food supplies remain normal in
Herat, and food aid to more than 200,000 IDPs continues.  Market food
supplies and prices remain unchanged in Jalalabad as well.


Relief and Contingency Efforts - Afghanistan

IMC and its local partner, Ibn Sina, continue to provide assistance in 31
facilities as well as birthing centers.  In addition, 28 immunization
teams are operating in east, southeast, central, and southwest Afganistan.
IMC/Ibn Sina teams are operating in Herat, Helmand, Kandahar, Pakita,
Paktia, Ghazni, Wardak, Bamiyan, Parvan, Kabul, Laghman, and Nangarhar.

In Kabul, WFP is providing 60,000 kilos of wheat flour to 60,000 families
dependent on WFP's bakeries program.  According to WFP, this should be
sufficient through the end of October.

According to WFP, assistance is also continuing in northern Afghanistan,
in partnership with IRC, ACTED, and SC/US, as well as the Northern
Alliance-held town of Faisabad and the Panjshir Valley.


Current Situation - Pakistan

The Government of Pakistan held nationwide rallies during a "day of
solidarity" on September 27.  The rallies were intended to counter
anti-American demonstrations and encourage popular backing for Pakistan's
support of U.S. action in Afghanistan.

Pakistani police detained an unspecified number of suspected associates of
Osama bin Laden, according to Reuters, as part of an intensive manhunt
ordered by the GOP for Islamic militants.

Pakistan is sending another official delegation to convince the Taliban to
surrender Osama bin Laden to U.S. authorities.  A previous high-level
delegation delivered a letter to Taliban Foreign Minister Wakil Ahmed
Mutawakel from President Musharraf that urged Taliban authorities to
surrender bin Laden or face U.S. military action.


Relief and Contingency Efforts - Pakistan

Pakistan's National Institute of Health (NIH) warned of the potential for
an increase in infectious diseases as Afghan refugees cross and congregate
on the border with Afghanistan.  According to NIH, a disease early-warning
system has been activated in North West Frontier Province (NWFP) and
Baluchistan.  Hospitals in NWFP are making emergency preparations,
although Pakistan's Ministry of Health has not put hospitals on high
alert.

UNHCR's first airlift of 9,800 plastic sheets is scheduled to arrive in
Quetta on the morning of September 29.  A second flight from the UNHCR
warehouses in Copenhagen will deliver other needed relief supplies this
weekend.  UNHCR positioned 2,000 tents, 6,000 quilts, 2,000 kitchen sets
and 4,000 buckets in Quetta earlier this week.

UNHCR has identified five sites in Baluchistan for arriving refugees.
Two of the sites, Dara camp and Rogani, were inspected and approved by
UNHCR, NGOs and GOP officials on September 26.  The two sites can
accommodate 10,000 refugees and have adequate water supplies.

According to UNHCR, there are reports that Pakistani officials are
allowing some vulnerable refugees to cross into Pakistan at Chaman.


Relief and Contingency Efforts - Iran

According to an IRIN report, a UNHCR official stated that the Iranian Red
Crescent Society, the Government of Iran, and UNHCR are prepared to assist
up to 400,000 Afghan refugees along the border.  UNHCR has stockpiled
relief items, including 500 eight-person tents, plastic sheeting, and
blankets, in the cities of Torbat-e Jam, Taybad, Khaf, Qaen, Birjand, and
Nehvandan.


U.S. Government Funding

On September 22, 2000, Former Assistant Secretary Karl F. Inderfurth
re-declared a complex humanitarian disaster in Afghanistan for FY 2001.
In addition, U.S. Ambassador to Pakistan William B. Milam issued a
disaster declaration for Afghan refugees in Pakistan on February 2, 2001.
To date, FY 2001 USG humanitarian assistance provided by USAID/OFDA,
USAID/FFP, USDA, the Department of State's Bureau of Population, Refugees,
and Migration (State/PRM), the joint Department of State/Department of
Defense Demining Program, the Department of State's Bureau International
Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (State/INL) and the Centers for
Disease Control (CDC) totals $183,648,477, including both assistance
inside Afghanistan and assistance to Afghan refugees in neighboring
countries.

Despite the pullout of international humanitarian personnel from
Afghanistan, the USG remains committed to assisting vulnerable Afghans.

Total USAID/OFDA FY 2001  $18,934,362
Total USAID/FFP FY 2001   $31,200,000
Total USAID/DG FY 2001    $   450,000
Total USDA FY 2001        $99,800,000
Total State/PRM FY 2001   $28,344,590
Total State/HDP FY 2001   $ 2,800,000
Total State/INL FY 2001   $ 1,500,000
Total CDC FY 2001         $   569,525

TOTAL USG Humanitarian Assistance FY 2001	$183,648,477

Note:  details of USG funding listed above are available in USAID/OFDA
Afghanistan Situation Reports.


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