U.S. AGENCY FOR INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT
BUREAU FOR HUMANITARIAN RESPONSE (BHR)
OFFICE OF U.S. FOREIGN DISASTER ASSISTANCE (OFDA)
CENTRAL ASIA TASK FORCE
CENTRAL ASIA REGION - Complex Emergency
Situation Report #5 (FY02)    October 31 2001


BACKGROUND

Two decades of war in Afghanistan, including a decade-long Soviet
occupation and ensuing civil strife, have left Afghanistan impoverished
and mired in an extended humanitarian crisis.  Government infrastructure,
including the ability to deliver the most basic health, education, and
other social services, has collapsed.  Significant resources are directed
to the war effort.  Severe restrictions by the Taliban, including a
restriction on women working outside the home, have added to the impact
of poverty, particularly on the many households lacking able-bodied adult
men.  The Taliban controls about 90 percent of Afghanistan's territory.

Humanitarian prospects worsened sharply in Afghanistan in September 2001
due to developments both inside and outside the country.  Osama bin Laden,
who resides in Afghanistan under Taliban protection, is the leading
suspect in the September 11 terrorist attack against the United States. 
Fears of a U.S. reprisal triggered a population exodus from major Afghan
cities, both towards other points in Afghanistan and towards the country's
borders.   The beginning of U.S. air strikes on October 7 caused
additional movement.  International staff of all relief agencies withdrew
after September 11.  Even prior to the September 11 there were signs that
relations between the international community and the Taliban were
worsening significantly.  These new developments added to an existing
crisis of extensive displacement stemming from civil conflict and a
debilitating three-year drought.

Afghanistan:  Numbers Affected  (* denotes new information)

Total population (CIA Factbook)        26,813,057

Refugees Since September 11, 2001 (UNHCR)
   Pakistan      80,000 - 110,000 *
   Iran         Unknown

Refugees Since September 2000 (UNHCR)
   Pakistan     152,000

Old Caseload Refugees (UNHCR)
   Iran       1,500,000
   Pakistan   2,000,000

Internally Displaced (U.N.)
   Since September 11, 2001    180,000
   Since 2000                1,100,000      
   Old caseload              1,000,000


Total FY 2001/2002 U.S. Government (USG) Assistance to Afghanistan     
$292,972,370*

Total FY 2001/2002 USG Assistance to Tajikistan
$68,208,180

* Note: this figure has been reduced from the October 31, 2001 figure of
$294,055,970 due to a discrepancy in reporting of the total number of
Humanitarian Daily Rations dropped as of that date.  See DOD Funding for
details.



CURRENT SITUATION

Overview.  Food aid, delivered in massive quantities by the U.N. World
Food Program (WFP) despite ongoing conflict, and through U.S. airdrops,
continued to flow into Afghanistan in increasing quantities.  Nonfood
relief commodities continued to arrive in Afghanistan as well.  Population
movements towards Afghanistan's borders continued, while Taliban forces
reportedly engaged in forced recruitment as well as blocking efforts to
flee the country.  Despite increased refugee numbers in Pakistan, outflows
still fell far short of the 1.5 million to surrounding countries
envisioned by contingency planners.

Reports of the Taliban using civilian populations and structures as human
shields continued, as Taliban forces continued to move military equipment
and personnel into civilian structures including mosques and schools.

Political/Military.  In what some sources described as a serious setback
for efforts to establish a broad-based post-Taliban government inside
Afghanistan, opposition leader Abdul Haq was captured and killed by the
Taliban after a brief foray into southeastern Afghanistan.  Haq was a
prominent Pashtun leader who had achieved hero status in Afghanistan due
to his role in the war against the Soviet occupation in the 1980s.

Food Aid.  As of October 31, WFP had enough food aid in Afghanistan and
the region to feed more than 10 million people for one month (see table). 
Despite the ongoing war, food deliveries into Afghanistan, as well as
distributions to beneficiaries, continued.  According to WFP, distribution
of food aid to beneficiaries inside Afghanistan during the month of
October totaled 21,933 metric tons (MT) for more than 2.6 million
beneficiaries.  Since September 11, WFP has distributed a total of 34,341
MT of food aid inside Afghanistan.  The daily rate of food aid transport
into Afghanistan has steadily increased; between October 28 and October
29, WFP transported 3,910 MT into the country.  In total, WFP has
delivered 27,311 MT of food into Afghanistan since September 11.

In Northern Alliance-held territory, food is reportedly available in all
local commercial centers, although prices have been increasing.  Prices in
the northeast have generally been higher than the rest of the country, due
to war and accessibility issues.

Current WFP Food Aid Stocks

Location      Quantity (MT)   Beneficiaries

Afghanistan    9,136           1,096,296
Region        84,536          10,144,313
Total         93,672 


Pakistan. Although the border officially remained closed, Afghans
continued to cross into Pakistan, bringing the total number of Afghan
refugees since September 11 to an estimated 80,000 to 110,000.  The U.N.
High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) announced that it would begin using
15 campsites under development in Pakistan to accommodate up to 150,000
people.

UNHCR reported October 31 that it had reached agreement with President
Pervez Musharraf to continue to admit Afghans under certain categories of
vulnerability, which include elderly and sick persons.  UNHCR is seeking
to expand the categories to include those fleeing forced recruitment
efforts.  UNHCR also reported that it has reached agreement with the
Government of Pakistan that the thousands of "invisible refugees" who have
crossed into Pakistan through informal crossings should receive
assistance, if possible, preferably in camp settings.

The Killi Faizo temporary staging site near the Chaman border crossing in
Baluchistan filled steadily this week to a total of 1,900 people,
exceeding the site's maximum capacity.  According to UNHCR, local
authorities suspended registration and refused new arrivals, sending them
back across the border to a Taliban-administered site at Spin Boldak. 
UNHCR is negotiating to open a new site nearby the Killi Faizo site in
Pakistan.  UNHCR reported that a number of the new arrivals were severely
sick or malnourished, and MSF-Holland treated over 100 patients on October
31.  UNHCR provided tents, blankets, cooking utensils and other non-food
items, WFP supplied food, and Oxfam provided water facilities at the site.

  
UNHCR Contingency Sites in Pakistan

Location                      Capacity   Population

Roghani/Tor Tangi (Baluch.)    50,000 
Killi Faizo (Baluch.)           1,600       1,900
Mohmand/Khyber (NWFP)          22,000 

Iran.  In western Afghanistan, Makaki, a camp operated in a
Taliban-controlled area of Nimroz Province by the Iranian Red Crescent
Society (IRCS), has now reportedly reached its 6,000-person capacity,
according to UNHCR.   Iranian authorities are hoping to transfer some of
the new arrivals to Mile 46, a camp in a Northern Alliance-controlled
portion of Nimroz. 

UNHCR has expressed concerns regarding the safety of the Iranian camps
inside Afghanistan.  Many Afghans have expressed fears of forced round-ups
by the Taliban near the Iranian border, as well as fears of being used as
human shields by Taliban forces.  Shelter and water supplies at the sites
are also reportedly insufficient.

Iran / IRCS IDP Sites in Afghanistan

Location          Capacity    Population
Makaki (Nimroz)     6,000        7,800
Mile 46               632
Total               6,632


Afghanistan.  On October 30, the U.N. Office for the Coordination of
Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA) reiterated a warning that up to 500,000
internally displaced persons (IDPs) throughout Taliban-held areas of the
Northern Region are living under very poor conditions.  The area, which
has suffered the combined effects of both drought and war, was already
considered to be Afghanistan's worst affected and least served area prior
to September 11.  Fighting between the Northern Alliance and Taliban
forces in southern Balkh province has reportedly driven IDPs living in
spontaneous settlements towards the outskirts of Mazar-e-Sharif, the
region's major city and Balkh's provincial capital.  By some accounts
there are now at least 11 camps in the vicinity of Mazar-e-Sharif.

In southern Afghanistan, there are now reportedly some 3,000 IDPs at a
Taliban-run camp at Spin Boldak, near the Pakistan border.   Afghans
arriving in Pakistan have reported cases of severe malnutrition and
dysentery at the site.  The health conditions of some new arrivals
appeared to confirm this, according to UNHCR.  New arrivals also reported
that Taliban forces were preventing Afghans from leaving the country,
including those in urgent need of medical attention.  On October 31, armed
Taliban forces seized a UNHCR field office at Spin Boldak, just hours
after a meeting between the U.N. High Commissioner and the Taliban
Ambassador to Pakistan, in which the High Commissioner asked that the
Taliban stop interfering with UNHCR property and staff.

Delivery of relief commodities continued in western and northern
Afghanistan.  UNOCHA reported that an IOM convoy from Mashad, Iran was
expected to arrive in Herat on November 1 carrying 13,000 blankets, as
well as other nonfood relief items.  In Mazar-e-Sharif, an IOM office was
allowed to re-open by the Taliban.  Although some 2,000 quilts were
looted, IOM plans to deliver 3,000 quilts from the site that escaped
looting to IDP camps in Kunduz.

Security problems inside Afghanistan continue to pose major concerns, with
looting and armed occupation of international aid agency offices
increasingly commonplace.  According to UNOCHA, the UNHCR office in
Kandahar, which houses relief supplies, was looted.  UNOCHA also reported
that armed individuals occupied the WFP office in Mazar-e-Sharif, and
local authorities are using two WFP vehicles.  ICRC offices in
Mazar-e-Sharif were taken over by armed individuals on October 23.  In
addition, there have been unconfirmed reports that WFP food stocks have
disappeared from its Kandahar warehouse, which was taken over by the
Taliban on October 16.

The refugee outflows from Afghanistan have been substantially lower than
expected to date.  Afghans are not leaving Afghanistan for a variety of
reasons, according to reports, including difficulties in crossing the
country's borders; the high financial cost of leaving in an impoverished
economy; the realization that U.S. targeting is limited to military
objectives; and the fact that food aid is still reaching many areas.


USG HUMANITARIAN ASSISTANCE

Background 

On October 4, President George W. Bush announced a $320 million assistance
program for Afghanistan.  Funding will support assistance to Afghans both
inside and outside Afghanistan's borders, with support for food and a wide
variety of other relief needs.

On October 4, Assistant Secretary of State for South Asian Affairs
Christina B. Rocca redeclared a complex humanitarian disaster in
Afghanistan for FY 2002.  To date, FY 2001 and FY 2002 USG humanitarian
assistance for Afghans is provided by USAID/OFDA, USAID/FFP,
USAID/Democracy & Governance (DG), USDA, the Department of State's Bureau
of Population, Refugees, and Migration (State/PRM), the 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).  The assistance includes both
assistance inside Afghanistan and assistance to Afghan refugees in
neighboring countries.

In Tajikistan, on October 10, 2001, U.S. Chargé d'Affaires James A.
Boughner declared a disaster due to drought, and requested funds for a
seed and fertilizer distribution program.  USAID/OFDA responded by
providing $998,180 through the U.S. Embassy to CARE for the purchase and
distribution of winter wheat seeds and fertilizer. 


USAID/OFDA Assistance

Personnel

USAID/OFDA Disaster Assistance Response Team (DART) personnel have
deployed to Uzbekistan to assess humanitarian activities and logistical
capacity in the area.  The DART personnel in Uzbekistan will complement a
DART that was deployed to Pakistan on June 17, 2001. 

In April 2001, USAID/OFDA and State/PRM deployed an assessment team to
western and northern Afghanistan, including Herat and Mazar-e-Sharif, to
assess drought and nutrition conditions in affected areas.

Airlifts and Commodities - FY 2002
Airlift to Islamabad - On October 23, Bear McConnell, Director of the
USAID Central Asia Task Force, arrived in Islamabad, Pakistan aboard a
U.S. Air Force C-17 cargo plane carrying 20,400 blankets from USAID/OFDA
stockpiles. An additional 15,000 blankets arrived via commercial transport
October 25. The blankets will be provided to UNHCR as a contingency for a
possible refugee influx.

Value including transport       $312,350

Health Kits to Pakistan -USAID/OFDA has provided five health kits to
UNICEF in Islamabad as an in-kind contribution.  The health kits can
support a population of 10,000 for up to three months.        $29,415 

Airlift to Turkmenistan - two chartered planes carrying 1,000 rolls of
plastic sheeting for emergency shelter arrived in Ashgabat October 18 and
were consigned to UNICEF.  Value includes transport.   $403,200


New Grants - FY 2002 (Afghanistan)

Concern Worldwide - shelter program in northeast Afghanistan to encourage
up to 5,000 displaced families to return to their homes by repairing
looted and destroyed homes       $1,203,343

FAO - seed multiplication, procurement, and distribution to
drought-affected farmers throughout Afghanistan     $1,095,000

MCI - distribution of WFP food to 10,000 families, potable water for 3,000
families, and distribution of non-food items to 10,000 families in
southern and central Afghanistan  $2,000,000

WFP - purchase, transport, and bagging of 15,000 MT of wheat
$6,000,000

WFP - purchase of trucks to support the delivery of food aid   
$5,000,000


Grants - FY 2002 (Afghanistan)

ACTED - pre-positioning of food and non-food emergency relief items in
northeastern Afghanistan.
$5,500,000

ACTED - IDP camp management and support in Baghlan      $630,000

FAO - seed multiplication       $300,000

GOAL - food, shelter, water/sanitation, and winterization in Samangan and
Jozjan Provinces.         $5,500,000

IOM - support for distribution of food and non-food relief commodities in
Badghis, Faryab, and Balkh provinces. $562,313

International Medical Corps (IMC) - health assistance for IDPs and local
residents in Herat.    $735,000

UNICEF - nutrition surveillance, health, and water/sanitation activities
country-wide   $1,650,000

Save the Children (SC)/US - nutrition surveillance in northern
Afghanistan      $206,488

SC/US - food programs in Faryab and Sar-e-Pul, and emergency heating for
hospitals in Kabul and Mazar-e-Sharif. $2,000,000

UNOCHA - humanitarian coordination      $2,500,000

UNICEF - Water and Environmental Sanitation activities      $2,500,000

ICRC - support for pre-positioning and mobilization of food and non-food
stocks for use within Afghanistan in addressing the needs of 540,000
drought and war-displaced people, as well as support for airlifts
$2,500,000

WFP - support for a Joint Logistics Center and humanitarian air
operations      $2,500,000

Total USAID/OFDA FY 2002        $43,127,109


Grants - FY 2002 (Tajikistan)

CARE - purchase and distribution of winter wheat seeds and fertilizer,
benefiting an estimated 4,500 drought-affected families

Total USAID/OFDA Tajikistan FY 2002     $998,180


USAID/FFP

WFP - 72,700 MT of P.L. 480 Title II wheat and complementary commodities.


Total USAID/FFP FY 2002 $38,555,000

State/PRM
Note:  State/PRM funds listed reflect actual contributions to the listed
agencies.  Plans for funding are not included until funds have been
obligated. 

New State/PRM Grants - FY 2002
International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) - Contribution to ICRC's
Revised Emergency Afghan Conflict Appeal.      $6,500,000

International Federation of the Red Cross Red Crescent (IFRC) -
Contribution to IFRC's Revised Appeal
$3,000,000

IOM - Support for IOM's Appeal for Emergency Response to the Crisis in
Afghanistan
$2,000,000

United Nations Development Program (UNDP) - Contribution to the Project
Management Information System in Afghanistan (ProMIS)
$160,000

UNOCHA - Support for UNOCHA's Donor Alert for Afghans in Afghanistan and
in Neighboring Countries
$2,000,000

United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) - Support for UNFPA's Special
Program for Afghanistan and Neighboring Countries
$600,000

WFP - Contribution to WFP's Special Operation/Logistics Support to
Interagency Relief Efforts and Humanitarian Assistance for the Afghan
people
$4,000,000


State/PRM Grants - FY 2002

UNHCR - Funding for UNHCR's Emergency Humanitarian Assistance Plan for
Afghans.
$10,000,000



Total State/PRM FY 2002 $28,260,000

Department of Defense (DOD)
Between October 7 and October 31, DOD dropped 1,280,525 humanitarian daily
rations (HDRs), valued at $4.30 each, into Afghanistan.  (Note: the figure
reported October 30 of 1,280,525 HDRs dropped was inaccurate.  The correct
figure was 1,028,520.)

Total DOD FY 2002       $4,570,728


Central Asia Region Situation Reports.
TOTAL USG Humanitarian Assistance FY 2001       $178,607,625

FY 2002
TOTAL USG Humanitarian Assistance to Afghanistan FY 2002       
$114,364,745

FY 2001/2002
TOTAL USG Humanitarian Assistance to Afghanistan FY 2001/2002  
$292,972,370

USG ASSISTANCE - TAJIKISTAN
Total USG Assistance to Tajikistan FY 2001      $67,210,000
Note:  FY 2001 USG assistance to Tajikistan included assistance through
USAID/OFDA, USAID/FFP, USDA, the Department of State, and Freedom Support
Act  funds administered through a variety of agencies.

Total USAID/OFDA Assistance to Tajikistan FY 2002       $998,180
Total USG Assistance to Tajikistan FY 2001/2002  $68,208,180


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