Central Asia - OFDA-38: 03-Jul-02
U.S. AGENCY FOR INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT
BUREAU FOR DEMOCRACY, CONFLICT, AND HUMANITARIAN ASSISTANCE (DCHA)
OFFICE OF U.S. FOREIGN DISASTER ASSISTANCE (OFDA)
CENTRAL ASIA REGION - Complex Emergency
Situation Report #38, Fiscal Year (FY) 2002 July 3, 2002
Note: This Situation Report updates previous Central Asia Task Force
Situation Reports and Fact Sheets. New information is italicized.
BACKGROUND
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. Severe restrictions by the Taliban,
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. A devastating regional drought compounded the crisis, drying
up wells, parching agricultural land, killing off livestock, collapsing
rural economies, and eventually exhausting the coping mechanisms of many
ordinary Afghans, forcing them to leave their homes in search of food and
water.
International relief agencies, with support from the United States (U.S.),
have long been active in providing humanitarian assistance to the Afghan
people, even during the restrictive years of the Taliban. On October 7,
2001, a Coalition-led military campaign against al Qaeda and Taliban
forces began, and by December 2001, the Taliban had collapsed. The new
Afghan Interim Authority (AIA) was sworn in on December 22, 2001,
increasing humanitarian access to the country and beginning the process of
reconstruction. Hundreds of thousands of refugee and internally displaced
families have returned to their homes to assist in the rebuilding. The
U.S. Agency for International Development's Disaster Assistance Response
Team (USAID/DART) began its emergency coordination work in response to the
regional drought in June 2001, and a USAID/OFDA Program Office in Kabul
continues to assess the humanitarian needs of vulnerable Afghans, and to
monitor the relief programs of its implementing partners.
Afghanistan: Numbers at a Glance
Total population (CIA Factbook) 26,813,057
Old Caseload Refugees (UNHCR)
Pakistan 2,000,000
Iran 1,500,000
Refugee Returns Since January 1, 2002 (UNHCR)
Pakistan (vol. assisted since March 1) 1,038,000
Pakistan (spontaneous) 180,000
Iran (voluntary assisted since April 9) 88,000
Iran (spontaneous) 61,000
Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan 1,000
Kyrgyzstan 33
Internally Displaced (UNDP/OCHA)
Total as of February 20, 2002 920,000
north and northeast 500,000
south and west 420,000
Internally Displaced Returns Since January 1, 2002
(UNHCR)
From Tajikistan: Pyandj River (voluntary assisted) 8,952
Total as of June 25, 2002 (vol. assisted) 171,500
Total since December 2002 (spontaneous) 400,000
FY 2001/2002 U.S. Government (USG) Humanitarian Assistance to Afghanistan*
$633,391,992
FY 2001/2002 USG Humanitarian Assistance to Tajikistan
$88,208,180
CURRENT SITUATION
Overview. President Hamid Karzai filled 35 executive positions in his new
transition government. A joint U.S.-Afghan team is investigating civilian
deaths in Uruzgan Province following U.S. bombing. An ammunition dump
exploded in Spin Boldak, resulting in fatalities and injuries. Security
has deteriorated in parts of central and northern Afghanistan, with
persecution of ethnic minorities, fighting, and crime on the rise. Crop
failures have been reported in three provinces of Afghanistan. Assisted
refugee returns have increased since the Loya Jirga, and the International
Organization for Migration (IOM) has transported internally displaced
persons (IDPs) from camps in northern and western Afghanistan to their
homes.
Political/Military. The newly elected president of Afghanistan's
transition government, Hamid Karzai, appointed a total of 35 people to
executive positions, including Cabinet ministries, special advisors, and
other Cabinet-level posts. Karzai appointed a Pashtun (the largest ethnic
group in Afghanistan) to serve as interior minister, though Tajiks from
the Panjshir Valley retained key positions as the defense and foreign
ministers. The former interior minister, also a Tajik, was named
education minister, but was later given an additional position as special
presidential advisor for internal security.
On July 1, U.S. Coalition forces bombed parts of Uruzgan Province in
southern Afghanistan during an attack. According to press reports, an
errant U.S. bomb killed 40 civilians and wounded another 100. A joint
U.S.-Afghan team was dispatched to the affected village to determine if
civilian deaths were the result of anti-aircraft gunfire or the U.S. bomb.
The Afghan government denounced the attack and called on the U.S. to take
measures to prevent civilian casualties.
An ammunition dump exploded late in the evening of June 27 in the southern
border town of Spin Boldak, Kandahar Province, where an estimated 32,000
IDPs are sheltering. The explosion triggered secondary explosions that
continued until the next morning. It is not clear if the initial explosion
was an accident or deliberate act. The explosion killed at least 10
people, injured 75 others, and destroyed 20 buildings. The U.N. High
Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) did not receive reports of any injuries
to IDPs or international staff. Two U.N. World Food Program (WFP)
storage tents and stores of cooking oil were damaged.
Security. The security situation in central and northern Afghanistan has
deteriorated further in recent weeks. Supporters of Abdul Rashid Dostum
and Atta Mohammed, rival warlords in the north, engaged in fighting in
Abdrang, Jawzjan Province on June 25-26. The fighting burned a settlement
with 150 families, and looting was reported in 17 other settlements. The
clashes prompted the evacuation of three IOM and UNHCR workers from the
capital of Faryab province. Fighting reportedly eased on June 27, although
continued fighting was reported on June 29 in Seh Shanbah village near
Sar-e-Pul.
On July 1, President Karzai sent a delegation to the north, particularly
Faryab, Sar-e-Pul, and Badghis provinces, to address continuing harassment
of ethnic minorities and an increase in criminal activity. Human Rights
Watch (HRW) has documented abuses against ethnic Pashtuns in Faryab
Province. HRW also received reports of ethnic armed groups in the north
forcing IDPs to relocate or perform military support functions,
particularly in Camp 65 in Chimtal District west of Mazar and Sakhi camp
east of Mazar. IDPs in these camps were subjected to sexual violence and
other abuses. UNHCR also reports declining security in Kahmard and Saighan
districts of the central Bamiyan Province. Intense fighting last week in
Kahmard killed a number of civilians, and compelled people to leave
Shaigan. Several incidents of human rights violations were reported along
with the fighting in Kahmard.
UNHCR has increased the presence of protection staff in both the northern
and central parts of Afghanistan.
Food Aid and Agriculture. Since September 11, 2001, WFP, with support
from USAID, has delivered more than 520,000 MT of food into Afghanistan,
assisting some 9.8 million Afghans.
WFP continues to experience constraints in their food pipeline because of
insufficient supply. Due to the pipeline shortages, WFP has suspended
wheat distribution through Food For Work and Food For Assets Creation
programs in areas where spring crops are being harvested. WFP has also
reduced emergency food rations from 150 kg. of wheat per family to 100 kg.
In some areas, the ration has been reduced to 50 kg. with food coupons
that can be redeemed for additional wheat pending food availability.
The harvest season has brought reports of both crop success and failure.
The USAID/OFDA Program Office in Kabul received reports from USAID/OFDA
partner CARE of irrigated crop failures in Wardak and Ghazni provinces, in
addition to rivers drying up earlier than usual. In the districts of
Jaghuri, Qarabagh, Wargaz, and Chaki Wardak, CARE estimated failure of an
estimated 70% of the irrigated crop and 100% of rain fed crops. CARE also
found that men were leaving the area in search of work due to the crop
failure. USAID/OFDA also received reports of crops failing in Ghor
Province. In contrast, in the Alborz District of Balkh Province, a
USAID/OFDA program officer observed fields of wheat in various stages of
harvest, and new fields of various fruits and vegetables. The Alborz
district governor confirmed that this year's harvest has been successful.
IDPs and Refugees. More than 1.1 million Afghan refugees have been
assisted in returning home since UNHCR and the AIA began their voluntary
repatriation program on March 1 in coordination with neighboring
governments. UNHCR expects an estimated two million Afghans to return
home in 2002.
Assisted returns increased following the peaceful conclusion of the Loya
Jirga. There were 62,057 refugees returning to Afghanistan between June
18 and June 24, an increase from 56,851 returns the previous week. The
increase is expected to continue, particularly with the end of the school
year in Iran.
A new transit center opened in Kabul on June 24 to assist returnees
continuing beyond Kabul. The facility, located on the eastern road to
Bagram, is managed by the Ministry of Repatriation and can accommodate
returnees spending one night before continuing their journey.
More than one million Afghans have voluntarily returned from Pakistan
since March 1, with 90% passing through the Takhtabaig voluntary
repatriation center near Peshawar, Pakistan. More than half of these
returnees from Pakistan came from North West Frontier Province, and 10%
from Punjab. More than 40% of returnees are destined for Kabul Province,
23% to Nangarhar Province, and 6% to Parwan Province.
According to UNHCR, 88,000 Afghans have returned home from Iran since its
program began on April 9. The Milak-Zaranj border crossing for returnees
in the south has reopened since factional fighting in the city of Zaranj
in Nimruz Province forced it to close temporarily. Afghans also cross
from Iran at the northern Islam Qala border at Dogharun, and have gone on
to areas outside Herat Province, mainly to Kabul and other urban centers.
UNHCR reported that between April 9 and June 12, 33% of returnees from
Iran repatriated from Tehran, 14% from Sistan va Baluchestan, and 10% from
Esfahan.
UNHCR reports that approximately 10,000 Afghans have been assisted in
returning home from the northern Central Asia states, including the Tajik-
Afghan border and Turkmenistan.
In recent weeks, more than 5,000 Afghans have left the Chaman and Spin
Boldak sites along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border. UNHCR has been
working to identify longer-term sites in Kandahar Province for up to
50,000 IDPs currently sheltering in Spin Boldak and Chaman. UNHCR has not
identified any new NGOs to assist the five makeshift camps of Spin Boldak
since two of the Muslim NGOs operating there pulled out on June 6.
Following a temporary suspension due to a funding shortage, IOM resumed
return assistance for IDPs in mid-June. As of June 25, IOM transported
11,500 IDPs, including 5,178 IDPs in Herat camps to Ghor and Badghis
provinces, and 6,430 IDPs in Mazar-e- Sharif to Balkh, Sar-e-Pul, and
Jawzjan provinces. UNHCR has since ceased IDP returns from Herat to
Faryab, Sar-e-Pul, and Badghis provinces due to reports of ethnic
persecution and an increase in crime and violence. Overall, IOM plans to
assist returns for approximately 43,000 IDPs in western camps, 35,000 IDPs
in northern camps, and 38,000 of the most vulnerable IDPs in Kabul.
Between mid- January and the end of May, IOM assisted more than 160,000
IDPs through its Internal Transport Network.
Health. The World Health Organization (WHO) appealed for $1.2 million to
address a facial disfiguring disease, cutaneous leishmaniasis. The
disease is caused by a parasite transmitted via insect bites, and the
resulting disfiguration can lead to social stigmitization, particularly
affecting women and children. WHO estimates that more than 250,000
Afghans will be infected with leishmaniasis this year, and believes
200,000 in Kabul are already infected. USG HUMANITARIAN ASSISTANCE
Background. On October 4, 2001, 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 has been provided by USAID/OFDA, Food
for Peace (USAID/FFP), Democracy & Governance (USAID/DG), Office of
Transition Initiatives (USAID/OTI), United States Department of
Agriculture (USDA), Department of State's Bureau of Population, Refugees,
and Migration (State/PRM), Department of State's Humanitarian Demining
Program (State/HDP), the Department of State's Bureau of International
Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (State/INL), the Department of
Defense (DOD), and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
The assistance is for displaced persons inside Afghanistan and Afghan
refugees in neighboring countries.
On March 26, 2002, U.S. Ambassador to Afghanistan Robert P. Finn issued a
disaster declaration due to the earthquake in Baghlan Province.
USAID/OFDA responded by providing an additional $25,000 in Disaster
Assistance Authority to ACTED, one of many USAID-funded grantees that are
providing humanitarian assistance to the affected population.
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. On June 7, the USAID/OFDA Disaster Assistance Response Team
(DART) based in Kabul was deactivated to become a USAID/OFDA Program
Office. The USAID/DART had been in the region since June 2001.
USAID/OFDA staff in Kabul will continue to coordinate with the
humanitarian relief community, assess the humanitarian situation, and
monitor USAID/OFDA programs.
OTHER USG ASSISTANCE
New Actions. State/PRM has made a number of contributions recently:
$11,000,000 to the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) to
support protection and emergency assistance activities for Afghans in
remote areas.
$7,700,000 to UNHCR to facilitate the repatriation and reintegration of
Afghan refugees and IDPs.
$1,225,524 to the International Medical Corps (IMC) to support a project
providing healthcare, primary education, non-formal education, and
microcredit for Afghan refugees in Haripur and Baluchistan, Pakistan.
$2,500,019 to the International Rescue Committee (IRC) for a multifaceted
reintegration project for refugee returnees in southern, central, and
western Afghanistan.
$1,489,434 to Mercy Corps to stabilize at-risk communities and facilitate
potential returns to Helmand Province, Afghanistan.
USG HUMANITARIAN ASSISTANCE TO CENTRAL ASIA
USG
AGENCY
IMPLEMENTING PARTNER
ACTIVITY
REGION
AMOUNT
AFGHANISTAN - COMPLEX EMERGENCY FY 2002
USAID/OFDA
Airlifts and OFDA Relief
Commodities
Procurement and/or transport of blankets, plastic sheeting, tents, kitchen
sets, medical kits, wheat bags, high energy biscuits, and sugar
$4,178,994
AirServ
Air Transportation Services
$1,574,756
ACTED
Nahrin earthquake response
Baghlan
$25,000
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
Action Contre la Faim (ACF)
Malnutrition, disease prevention and treatment, water and sanitation
Kabul, Uruzgan, Bamiyan
$1,690,955
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
Distribution of seeds & tools, rehabilitation of agricultural
infrastructure, income generation activities
Badakshan, Baghlan, Takhar, Bamiyan provinces
$1,737,318
Concern Worldwide
Shelter-repair 5,000 homes
Northeast
$1,203,343
Field Support
Operational support for DARTs in Central Asia Region
$1,820,583
Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO)
Seed multiplication, procurement, and distribution
$1,095,000
FAO
Agriculture, seed multiplication
$300,000
FAO
Manual locust eradication program
North
$260,000
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 shelter, water and sanitation, non-food-items for IDPs, locust
eradication
Samangan
$600,000
GOAL
Emergency agricultural, potable water and sanitation rehabilitation, and
shelter repair
Samangan and Jowzjan provinces
$1,000,000
HOPE Worldwide
Repair of hospital and annex
Kabul
$38,500
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
$3,500,000
IMC
Primary health care, supplemental feeding, cash for work water and
agricultural rehabilitation programs
Bamiyan, Wardak, Parwan
$1,943,757
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
IRC
Health and food security for approximately 54,000 returning IDPs and
residents
Balkh
$725,831
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
$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
UNCHS (Habitat)
Cash-for-work rehabilitation of public areas, solid waste removal
Kabul, Kandahar, Mazar-e-Sharif
$382,850
Save the Children (SC)/US
Support Assessment Mission
South, West
$93,467
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 (SFL)
Cash-for-work road reconstruction & emergency home repair for returning
IDPs
Kunduz & Takhar
$1,294,550
SFL
Shelter
Herat
$130,000
Solidarites
Rehabilitation, agricultural revitalization
Balkh, Bamiyan, Samangan
$1,739,115
Tufts University
Assessment Mission
South, West
$201,868
World Food Program (WFP)
Food - 15,000 MT, processing, transport
$6,000,000
WFP
Emergency road repair
Turkmen border
$300,000
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 $94,253,150
USAID/FFP
WFP
Airlift from Quetta, Pakistan to Osh,
Kyrgyzstan
$2,000,000
WFP
31,050 MT Lentils and vegetable oil
$25,418,500
WFP
36,000 MT Wheat
$15,900,000
WFP
72,700 MT Food commodities
$38,555,000
WFP
24,320 MT Food commodities
$18,600,000
WFP
38,000 MT Wheat
$17,530,400
Total FY 2002 USAID/FFP $118,003,900
USAID/OTI
Voice of America
Radio program
$187,820
IOM
HEAR bulletin and radios
$1,500,000
IOM
Community reconstruction
$8,095,631
Internews
Media/journalist training
$998,720
RONCO
Small grants/operations support
$3,000,000
UNDP
UNDP Trust Fund in support of the Interim Afghan Administration
$500,000
Total FY 2002 USAID/OTI $14,282,171
STATE/HDP
HALO Trust
Demining program
$3,300,000
UNICEF
Mine awareness program
$700,000
UN Mine Action Program
Demining equipment
$1,000,000
RONCO
UXO experts
$2,000,000
Total FY 2002 State/HDP $7,000,000
USDA
WFP
40,000 MT of food commodities
$22,500,000
WFP
43,300 MT of wheat
$19,098,712
Total FY 2002 USDA $41,598,712
STATE/PRM
Church World Service
Support for refugees and returnees
$172,667
Cooperative Housing
Foundation
Support for returning refugees and IDPs in Bamiyan and Kabul
$2,157,662
ICRC
Emergency Appeal
$10,100,000
ICRC**
Protection and emergency assistance
$11,000,000
ICMC
Support for Afghans in Pakistan
$515,304
IFRC
Emergency Appeal
$4,000,000
International Medical Corps (IMC)
Healthcare, education, and microcredit for Afghan refugees
Haripur and Baluchistan, Pakistan
$1,225,524
IOM
Support for Refugees and IDPs
$4,800,000
IOM
Emergency Appeal
$2,000,000
IOM
Support for Refugees and IDPs
$1,000,000
International Rescue Committee (IRC)
Operational Support
$231,248
IRC
Reintegration project for returning refugees
Southern, central, and western
Afghanistan
$2,500,019
Mercy Corps
Support for Afghans in Pakistan
$376,781
Mercy Corps
Operational support
$162,775
Mercy Corps
Stabilize at-risk communities, facilitate returns to Helmand Province,
Afghanistan
$1,489,434
Save the Children/US
Health services for Afghan refugees
$1,833,251
UNDP
Support for Information Systems
$500,000
UNOCHA
Donor Alert for Afghans Program
$2,125,000
UNOCHA
Coordination of activities
(communications, IT, security)
$1,000,000
United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA)
Special Program for Afghanistan
$500,000
UNHCR
Emergency Appeal
$30,000,000
UNHCR
Support for returning Afghan refugees
$20,000,000
UNHCR
Support for Afghans in Afghanistan,
Pakistan, and Iran
$4,600,000
UNHCR**
Repatriation and reintegration for Afghan refugees and IDPs
$7,700,000
UNICEF
Back-to-school campaign
$2,000,000
UNICEF
Emergency Relief
$4,000,000
WFP
Operations/Logistics Support
$4,000,000
WFP
Coordination and Support Services
$1,500,000
WFP
Logistics, food management, supply in
Afghanistan and Pakistan
$499,000
WHO
Basic health for returning Afghans
$1,000,000
Total FY 2002 State/PRM $122,988,665
DOD
Airdrop of 2,423,700 Humanitarian Daily Rations (HDRs)
$50,897,769
Total FY 2002 DOD $50,897,769
Total FY 2002 USG Humanitarian Assistance to Afghanistan $449,024,367
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 Humanitarian Assistance to Tajikistan $20,998,180
FY 2001/ FY 2002 SUMMARY
Total USG Humanitarian Assistance to Afghanistan for FY 2001*
$184,367,625
Total USG Humanitarian Assistance to Afghanistan for FY 2002
$449,024,367
Total USG Humanitarian Assistance to Afghanistan for FY 2002/2001
$633,391,992
Total USG Humanitarian 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 Humanitarian Assistance to Tajikistan FY 2001/2002 $88,208,180
*Note: Detailed breakdowns of FY01 and FY02 assistance are available in
previous Central Asia Region situation reports.
**Note: New funds announced on July 1 are both committed and obligated.
distributed by
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