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
Situation Report #17, Fiscal Year (FY) 2002    January 25, 2002


Note: this Situation Report updates previous Central Asia Task Force
Situation Reports and Fact Sheets.

BACKGROUND

Prior to September 2001, two decades of war in Afghanistan, including a
decade-long Soviet occupation and ensuing civil strife, 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, collapsed.  Significant local and
national resources were directed to the war effort.  Severe restrictions
by the Taliban, which controlled as much as 90 percent of the country,
including a restriction on women working outside the home, added to the
impact of poverty, particularly on the many households lacking able-bodied
adult men.

Humanitarian prospects worsened sharply in Afghanistan in September 2001
due to developments both inside and outside the country.  Fears of a U.S.
reprisal to the attacks of September 11 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, complicating the delivery of humanitarian
assistance.  Even prior to 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

Total population (CIA Factbook)	26,813,057
Refugees Since September 11, 2001 (UNHCR)
   Pakistan   200,000
   Iran       Unknown

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

Internally Displaced (UN/WFP)
   Since September 11, 2001     300,000
   Old caseload               1,000,000


Refugee Returns Since January 1, 2002 (UNHCR)

   Pakistan   58,000
   Iran       14,400

Internally Displaced Returns (UNHCR)
   To Kabul            30,000
   To Shomali Plain     8,300
   To northeast       117,000

Total FY 2001/2002 U.S. Government (USG) Assistance to Afghanistan**
$420,643,998

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


CURRENT SITUATION

On January 21 – 22, the International Conference on Reconstruction
Assistance to Afghanistan (ICRAA)  was held in Tokyo.  The Afghan Interim
Administration (AIA) participated, and the meeting was co-chaired by the
United States, Japan, the European Union, and Saudi Arabia.
Representatives from 61 countries and 21 international organizations
attended.  Donors pledged a cumulative total of $4.5 billion, including
$1.8 billion for 2002.  On January 21, Secretary of State Colin Powell
announced at ICRAA that the United States would contribute $296 million
for Afghan assistance in the current fiscal year, as the first
contribution to what will be a multi- year effort.

The U.N. continued to make progress towards the establishment of a council
to choose a successor government to the AIA.  Despite reports of inter-
factional tensions and continued reports of security incidents, reports
indicated that the overall security situation in Afghanistan, at least in
urban areas, continued to improve.  The U.N. World Food Program (WFP)
moved towards establishing a mechanism to locate remote "pockets" of food
insecurity.  Both internally displaced person (IDP)  and refugee returns
continued, but new refugees continued to arrive in Pakistan.

USAID Administrator Andrew S. Natsios is currently in the region.  On
January 23, the Administrator met with USAID/OFDA implementing partners
and U.N.  Agency representatives.  Relief agencies discussed first-hand
perspectives regarding the security situation in Afghanistan, current
humanitarian conditions, and economic conditions.  POLITICAL/MILITARY On
January 24, the U.S. Department of the Treasury announced that it was
lifting a freeze on Afghan government assets frozen in 1999.  The Treasury
Department's move follows the U.N. Security Council's January 18 action to
remove the Afghanistan Central Bank from its list of sanctioned parties.
The funds will give the AIA access to approximately $193 million in gold
and $24 million in other assets.  Adequate access to funds has been cited
as critical to the new Interim Administration's authority, particularly
for the payment of current and back wages to civil servants and police.

On January 25, Afghan Interim Prime Minister Hamid Karzai announced that
the U.N. had completed a list of 21 people who will be responsible for
organizing a Loya Jirga, a tribal grand council.  The Loya Jirga will
determine who will rule Afghanistan for the eighteen months following the
end of the AIA's six-month term.

According to USAID/DART/Islamabad, U.N.  international staff have returned
to Kandahar.  That now gives the U.N. a full-time presence in each of its
seven regional coordinating centers in Afghanistan:  Kabul, Faizabad,
Herat, Bamiyan, Jalalabad, Mazar-e-Sharif, and Kandahar.  At present time,
more than 100 U.N. international staff members are working inside
Afghanistan.

There have been new reports of inter-factional tensions in Afghanistan.
In the north, fighting between Uzbek and Tajik forces were reported near
Kunduz.  In the south and west, a Kandahar Provincial Government spokesman
announced plans to send a force against hostile fighters in Helmand
allegedly backed by Iran.  Meanwhile, military action against Taliban and
Al Qaeda remnants reportedly continued near Kandahar, with clashes
reported on January 24. SECURITY USAID/DART/Islamabad reported January 25
that general security in Afghanistan continued to improve, particularly in
the major cities.  Despite the general improvement, pockets of insecurity,
particularly in rural areas and along roads between the cities, continued
to exist.  In particular, the Kabul to Jalalabad road and the Kabul to
Kandahar road are still considered unsafe for travel by humanitarian
agencies.  Likewise, the Kandahar to Herat road is still considered unsafe
for travel.

Reports of security incidents affecting humanitarian activities continue.
In Faryab, a non-governmental organization (NGO) reported that soldiers
interrupted a food distribution, demanding that they be given the
commodities instead of the intended beneficiaries.  In another incident, a
short gun battle occurred in Balkh province, interrupting an ongoing food
distribution.  NGOs reported that some commanders are taking a portion of
beneficiaries' food distributions as a form of informal tax;  reportedly,
the accepted tax is ten percent, but in some cases the amount taken has
been higher.  FOOD AID AND LOGISTICS From January 12 through 18, WFP
dispatched 16,050 MT of food into Afghanistan during the period 12 – 18
January at an average rate of 2,293 MT per day.  WFP has been conducting
one-time food distributions in major Afghan cities as a stabilizing and
confidence-building measure.  The one-time food distribution of
50-kilogram bags of wheat to 180,000 families in Kabul ended last week.
A similar distribution to 56,200 families is ongoing in Herat, and
additional one-time distributions are planned for Mazar-e-Sharif and
Kandahar in the near future.

WFP has created the Afghan Food Security Unit (AFSU) in order to undertake
rapid assessments and build up the capacity of local partners.  The unit
will use six helicopters, based in Kabul and Mazar-e-Sharif, to conduct
rapid assessments in remote pockets that may need emergency assistance.
Teams will identify both food and non-food emergency needs.  The AFSU will
act as a short-term measure, augmenting WFP's Vulnerability Assessment
Mapping (VAM) program.

With the burgeoning international presence inside Afghanistan, relief
agencies are reporting that the need for humanitarian air access into
Afghanistan is outstripping existing capacity.  WFP, which manages the
U.N. humanitarian flight program for Afghanistan that provides air access
both to U.N. and NGOs, is seeking to improve the process, including by
establishing flight sub-offices in Kabul, Mazar-e- Sharif, Herat, and
Kandahar to complement the existing office in Islamabad.  Lack of
refueling capacity inside Afghanistan has been a key constraint to flight
operations; the U.N. expects that planes will be able to refuel in Kabul
within two weeks, but that fuel will continue to be unavailable in other
areas.  Afghanistan's national airline, Ariana, has resumed operations,
but the airline's very limited capacity is not expected to alleviate the
flight capacity shortage.


Cross-Border Food Aid Deliveries
January 11 - January 18

Dispatch Point         MT
Turkmenabad         6,732
Peshawar            4,000
Quetta                  0
Termez              1,753
Mashad              1,443
Osh                   494
Chabahar            1,337
Ishkashim             221
Kulyab/Dushanbe         0
Kurgan/Tyube           70

Total Cross-Border Deliveries   16,050
(From WFP 01/18/2002)



REGIONAL UPDATES

Northeastern Region.  An estimated 11,596 IDPs who have remained on
islands in the Pyanj River along the Tajikistan-Afghanistan border since
the Taliban's capture of Taloqan in September 2000 are receiving WFP food
assistance, including nearly 29 MT of assorted food commodities for 3,278
beneficiaries.

Central Region.  The U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) reported
January 24 that the first phase of IDP repatriation to the Shomali Plain,
northeast of Kabul, has finished, with more than 8,300 families returned
to their home districts.  As part of the repatriation effort, relief
agencies provided returnees with assistance packages, and demining
organizations checked areas of return for mines and unexploded ordnance
(UXO).  The Shomali Plains IDP population is one of Afghanistan's
long-term internal displacement caseloads; some 200,000 people were forced
from Shomali in fighting between Taliban and Northern Alliance forces that
began in 1998 and left the area a recurring battlefield for ensuing years.
Of this population, some 20,000 moved to the adjacent Panjshir Valley,
while more than 15,700 sought shelter in the former Soviet Embassy
compound in Kabul.  It is unclear how many IDPs from the original caseload
remain displaced.

The U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA)
reported January 22 that wheat distribution in Bamiyan city is ongoing, as
well as a survey of houses around Bamiyan that were burned during civil
conflict earlier this year.  According to UNOCHA, snowfall in the central
highlands has remained drastically below average, allowing main roads to
remain open through the winter in a region that is traditionally rendered
largely inaccessible by snowfall.

Southern region.  WFP reported that the population of the IDP camp at Spin
Boldak, near the southwestern Afghanistan-Pakistan Chaman border crossing,
currently totals approximately 60,000 people.  According to WFP, an
estimated 40-50 percent of the inhabitants are drought-affected nomadic
kuchis, while the rest of the population consists of war-displaced IDPs.
WFP is considering plans to provide food assistance to residents of the
camp for three months.

Pakistan.  UNHCR reported that some 40,000 refugees from Jalozai Camp in
Pakistan's North West Frontier Province (NWFP) near Peshawar have been
relocated to other camps in the region since November 2001.  UNHCR has
estimated that the camp will be empty by the end of January; as of January
24, an estimated 10,000 refugees remained.  Jalozai is a makeshift camp
that has been plagued by poor conditions since Afghans displaced by
drought and civil conflict began arriving in September 2000.

Even as an estimated 58,000 Afghans have spontaneously returned home from
Pakistan since January 1, 2002, including 33,635 from Baluchistan and
24,672 from NWFP, significant numbers of Afghans are continuing to enter
Pakistan from southern and eastern Afghanistan due to continued conflict,
lawlessness, and assistance shortages, according to the UN.  UNHCR
reported January 23 that 16,934 Afghans have entered Pakistan through
Baluchistan since January 1.

Following permission granted to UNHCR by the Government of Pakistan to
relocate an estimated 13,000 Afghans waiting to enter Pakistan at the
Chaman Border Crossing near the Killi Faizo transit center, UNHCR reported
that as of January 21, all of the 13,000 had been registered and moved to
the transit center or to a nearby camp.  The group had been the subject of
increasing concern due to poor conditions.

Iran.  UNHCR reported January 24 that more than 14,400 Afghans have
returned from Iran via the Dogharoun crossing since January 1 in on-going
voluntary repatriation movements coordinated by the Iranian authorities.
More than 140,000 refugees returned from Iran during 2001. 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
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 the USAID/OFDA, USAID/FFP, Democracy
& Governance (USAID/DG), United States Department of Agriculture (USDA),
Department of State's Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration
(State/PRM), Department of State's Demining Program, the Department of
State's Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs
(State/INL), and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (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 Cooperative for American
Relief Everywhere (CARE) for the purchase and distribution of winter wheat
seeds and fertilizer.



USAID/OFDA ASSISTANCE

Personnel

USAID/OFDA currently has one Disaster Assistance Response Team (DART)
deployed to Pakistan, Uzbekistan, and Turkmenistan to assess humanitarian
activities and logistical capacity in each area, and in the region as a
whole.  USAID/DART members are traveling into Kabul to coordinate with the
humanitarian relief community and assess the humanitarian situation. NEW
U.S. GOVERNMENT ACTIVITIES


Afghanistan

The State Department's Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration
(State/PRM) has provided $231,248 in support of the International Rescue
Committee (IRC).



USG HUMANITARIAN ASSISTANCE TO CENTRAL ASIA

USG AGENCY
IMPLEMENTING PARTNER
ACTIVITY
REGION
AMOUNT

AFGHANISTAN - COMPLEX EMERGENCY FY 2002
USAID/OFDA

Airlift - Turkmenistan
20,000 blankets, 100 rolls plastic sheeting, 20 MT BP-5 High Energy
  biscuits, 1 MT sugar
$743,543

Airlift - Turkmenistan
1,000 rolls of plastic sheeting for UNICEF
$403,200

Airlift - Islamabad
35,400 blankets
$312,350

Airlift - Pakistan
5 health kits
$29,415

Airlift - Turkmenabad
5 health kits
$33,923

Airlift - Uzbekistan
350,000 wheat bags
$67,000

Airlift - Turkmenistan
10,000 kitchen sets and 20,000 blankets
$473,400

Airlift - Turkmenistan
1,000 winterized tents
$167,000

ACTED
Food, non-food items
Northeast
$5,500,000

ACTED
IDP camp management
Baghlan
$630,000

ACTED
Livelihoods, agriculture, emergency rehab
Takhar, Baghlan, Shamali, Kabul, and Faryab.
$750,000

CARE
Water/sanitation, agricultural rehabilitation, shelter
All
$3,537,035

Catholic Relief Services (CRS)
Non-Food Items for 200,000 people
Central Highlands
$988,087

Church World Service
Transport of non-food items
$49,902

Concern Worldwide
Shelter/repair 5,000 homes
Northeast
$1,203,343

Concern Worldwide
Distribution of seeds & tools, rehabilitation of agricultural
  infrastructure, income generation activities
Badakshan, Baghlan, Takhar, Bamiyan provinces
$1,737,318

Field Support
Operational support for DARTs in Central Asia Region
$1,339,456

Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO)
Seed multiplication, procurement, and distribution
$1,095,000

FAO
Agriculture, seed multiplication
$300,000

FAO
Security surveillance, water resource management, farm power, & spring
  seed distribution
All
$2,500,000

FOCUS / Aga Khan
Seed multiplication, water supply rehabilitation, and complementary food
  distribution
Bamiyan, Baghlan, and Balkh
$1,436,134

GOAL
Food, shelter, water, sanitation, winterization
Samangan and Jowzjan provinces
$5,500,000

GOAL
Emergency agricultural, potable water and sanitation rehabilitation, and
  shelter repair
Samangan and Jowzjan provinces
$1,000,000

International Center for Agricultural Research in Dry Areas (ICARDA)
Seed multiplication, technical assistance for see procurement and
  regulation
All
$2,525,000

International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC)
Food, non-food items
All
$2,500,000

International Organization for Migration (IOM)
Food, non-food items
Badghis, Faryab, Balkh provinces
$562,313

IOM
Distribution of charcoal for cooking and heating fuel
Herat, Kunduz, and Faryab
$1,069,760

International Medical Corps (IMC)
Primary health care
Herat
$735,000

IMC
Primary health care
Bamiyan, Wardak, Parwan provinces
$3,500,000

International Rescue Committee  (IRC)
Food, potable water, well rehabilitation
North
$3,650,000

IRC
Medical, public health, education & self-help programs in camps and urban
  settings
Balkh, Ghor
$3,250,104

International Resource Group (IRG)
Food Augmentation Team
$614,820

Mercy Corps
Food, water, non-food items
South, Central
$2,000,000

Mercy Corps
Rehabilitation of wells & agriculture infrastructure, seed multiplication
Nimroz, Helmand, Kandahar, Uruzgan, Takhar, Kunduz & Baghlan provinces
$3,000,308

UNOCHA
Coordination
All
$2,500,000

UNICEF
Water, sanitation
All
$2,500,000

UNICEF
Nutrition, health, water, sanitation
All
$1,650,000

Save the Children (SC)/US
Nutrition
North
$206,488

SC/US
Food, health
Central and North
$2,000,000

SC/US
Spot reconstruction, cash-for-work, and medical clinic rehabilitation
Faryab, Sar-e-Pul
$3,262,312

Shelter for Life
Cash-for-work road reconstruction & emergency home repair for returning
IDPs
Kunduz & Takhar
$1,294,550

World Food Program (WFP)
Food  - 15,000 MT, processing, transport
$6,000,000

WFP
Purchase of trucks for food delivery
$5,000,000

WFP
Joint Logistics Center
$2,000,000

WFP
Logistics support equipment and services
All
$2,500,000

Total FY 2002 USAID/OFDA	 $82,116,761



USAID/FFP

WFP
Airlift from Quetta, Pakistan to Osh, Kyrgyzstan
$2,000,000

WFP
72,700 MT Food commodities
$38,555,000

Total FY 2002 USAID/FFP	$40,555,000



USAID/OTI

Voice of America
Radio program
All
$187,820

IOM
HEAR Bulletin and Radios
All
$1,500,000



UNDP

UNDP Trust Fund in support of the interim Afghan administration
All
500,000

Total FY 2002 USAID/OTI	$2,187,820



STATE/PRM

ICRC
Emergency Appeal
$13,500,000

IFRC
Emergency Appeal
$5,000,000

IOM
Emergency Appeal
$2,000,000

IRC
Operational Support
$231,248

Mercy Corps
Operational support
$162,775

United Nations Development Program (UNDP)
Project Management Information System
$160,000

UNOCHA
Donor Alert for Afghans Program
$2,125,000

United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA)
Special Program for Afghanistan
$600,000

WFP
Operations/Logistics Support
$4,000,000

UNHCR
Emergency Appeal
$30,000,000

UNICEF
Emergency Relief
$4,000,000

Total FY 2002 State/PRM 	$61,779,023


DOD
Airdrop of 2,423,700 Humanitarian Daily Rations (HDRs)
$50,897,769

Total FY 2002 DOD **	 $50,897,769
Total FY 2002 USG Assistance to Afghanistan**	$237,536,373


TAJIKISTAN - DROUGHT FY 2002

USAID/OFDA
CARE
Purchase and distribution of winter wheat to 36,000 people
$998,180

Total FY 2002 USAID/OFDA  $998,180



USAID/FFP

WFP
35,000 MT wheat flour
$20,000,000

Total FY 2002 USAID/FFP  $20,000,000
Total FY 2002 USG Assistance to Tajikistan   $20,998,180



FY 2001/ FY 2002 SUMMARY

Total USG Humanitarian Assistance to Afghanistan for FY 2001*
$183,107,625

Total USG Humanitarian Assistance to Afghanistan for FY 2002
$237,536,373

Total USG Humanitarian Assistance to Afghanistan for FY 2002/2001
$420,643,998

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

*Note: Detailed breakdowns of FY 2001 and FY 2002 assistance are available
in previous Central Asia Region Situation Reports.  UDSA estimates for
FY2001 donations increased by approximately $4.5 million due to unforeseen
costs for transport

**Note: DOD funding totals are estimates.  The previously reported total
of more than $120 million reflects the estimated total cost of the entire
four to five month airdrop operation.


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