UNICEF
Humanitarian Relief in the Afghan Region
Number 1
15 November 2001


Highlights:  Eight more UNICEF convoys poised to enter Afghanistan - First
relief barge crosses from Uzbekistan - Iran vaccinates over 1 million
children in border provinces - Tajik islands see more relief


1. Afghanistan

UNICEF has eight convoys poised to enter Afghanistan carrying medicines,
clothing, water supplies, and special nutritional supplies for children.
Once they enter the country in the next few days, these eight would bring
the total number of UNICEF convoys into Afghanistan to 52.

Following reports of possible violence in Mazar-i-Sharif over the weekend
of November 10-11, UNICEF is seeking to confirm the safety of 14 local
truck drivers - employed by an Afghan trucking firm - who arrived in Mazar
on the 10th ferrying UNICEF relief supplies.


2. In the Pakistan camps

The government is moving thousands of people from old camps to new
facilities. In Balochistan, the estimated 3,000 refugees in the "transit"
Killi Faizo facility (near Chaman) are to be transferred to the newer more
permanent Roghani camp site located nearby. In the North West Frontier
Province, beginning 15 November, civilians will begin being transferred
from the makeshift Jalozai site to the new Kotkai refugee site. UNHCR will
provide transport while the government of Pakistan is expected to provide
security. An ambulance provided by UNICEF will escort the convoy. Upon
arrival, UNICEF and its partners will vaccinate all children below 15
years against measles.

In all new refugee camps UNICEF is responsible for the overall
co-ordination of water/sanitation programs; the overall coordination of
therapeutic feeding programmes; and coordinating and implementing measles
vaccination of all children in all camps. UNICEF is also providing support
for other health services, temporary learning facilities, child friendly
spaces and recreation facilities. Advocacy for the protection needs of all
children is a cross-cutting activity.

- In the Killi Faizo "staging camp" in Balochistan UNICEF has:
- Delivered tents for the camp's reception and registration area;
- Delivered emergency water supplies including water purification tablets
  (20,000), two sets of water tanks, 300 jerry cans
- Vaccines and cold chain equipment

- For the Kotkai camp in NWFP (set to open 14 November), UNICEF is
  initially providing:
  - Two basic health kits that each serve 10,000 people for 3 months, as
    well as basic drugs;
  - 800 new latrines
  - 8 community water tanks (5,000 litres each) of 80 planned

- At the older camps in Balochistan, UNICEF has provided:
- 1,000 jerry cans of 10 litres capacity (of 9,000 planned)
- 520,000 water purification tablets (to purify water for 2,000 families
  for two months).



3. Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan & Tajikistan

On Wednesday UNICEF delivered 200 water tanks, water purification tablets
and soap to Island #13 between Tajikistan and Afghanistan. Water
contamination levels at the island, tested last week, are so severe that
drinking the water could cause death. A hygiene education programme will
also be implemented.  A first barge carrying humanitarian assistance left
the Uzbek river port of Termez on 14 November for Hairaton in Northern
Afghanistan. The barge had been loaded as a trial run with supplies from
UNICEF, WFP and UNHCR. The UNICEF supplies include 10,000 winter jackets,
7000 pairs of boots and 10,000 collapsible jerry cans.


4. Iran

Sub-national polio NID's took place in the eastern provinces bordering
Afghanistan (Sistan, Baluchestan, Khorassan, Kerman and Hormozgan
provinces) from 10-14 November, with a goal of reaching 1.3 million
children under age five. UNICEF provided the vaccines.

These NIDs are key to preventing the spread of polio from Afghanistan
(which is an endemic country) to non-endemic neighboring countries.  Some
5,564 two-person teams immunized children using a door-to- door strategy.
Monitoring is done by 45 central level supervisors who oversee the
activities in the 38 districts under coverage. A report on coverage will
be available the week on November 26.


distributed by
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Center for International Disaster Information
Volunteers in Technical Assistance
                                          web: www.cidi.org
                                     listserv: www.cidi.org/listsub.htm
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Central Asia                  www.cidi.org/humanitarian/hsr/centralasia