IRIN
AFGHANISTAN: UN pledges US $11 million for drought relief
15 August 2006


[This report does not necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations]

KABUL, 15 August (IRIN) - The United Nations Office for the Coordination of
Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) has pledged US $11 million to help millions of
drought-stricken people in Afghanistan, it was announced on Tuesday.

The contribution came after a joint appeal by the United Nations (UN) and the
Afghan government on 25 July for $76 million to feed and assist more than 2.5
million drought-affected people .

Much of the country's wheat crop has failed this year because of lower than
expected snowfall during the winter and poor spring rains, leaving thousands of
families hungry.

"Drought devastates communities in many ways and leads to spiralling
impoverishment," Margareta Wahlstrom, the UN's assistant secretary-general for
humanitarian affairs and deputy emergency relief coordinator, said from New
York.

Households consumed their harvests much sooner than usual, which led to
increased malnutrition, seeds were eaten before the next planting season and
animals and household goods were sold and people migrated to the cities,
Wahlstrom said.

The World Food Programme was to receive $10 million of the donation to provide
food for 1.7 million people in 13 of the worst drought-hit provinces, while the
United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) and the World Health Organization would
receive the remainder to provide further aid.

OCHA said the $200,000 given to UNICEF's therapeutic feeding programme would
help 2,000 severely malnourished children in the Sari Pul, Samangan and Ghor
provinces.

Aleem Siddique, a public information officer with the United Nations Assistance
Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA), praised the pledges but called on other donors
to provide further help.

"While we welcome the $11 million pledges by OCHA, there is a pressing need for
further funds if we are to raise the $76 million that we need to reach rural
communities before the winter sets in. Therefore we ask those donors who are
able, to step forward and help," Siddique said.

Officials have warned that inadequate rainfall in April and May could wipe out
50 percent of this year's wheat crop. The wheat harvest accounts for 80 percent
of the country's cereal production.

Afghanistan's Ministry of Agriculture and the UN Food and Agriculture
Organization estimated that there could be a shortfall of 1.2 million mt of
cereals in 2006. An estimated six million mt of cereals would be needed but
only 4.8 million mt produced.


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