Afghanistan: Severe winter conditions in western regions OCHA Situation Report No. 4

This report is developed by the Humanitarian Affairs Unit of UNAMA in Afghanistan and is based on information provided by the Governor's Office, Herat, the Afghan National Disaster Management Authority (ANDMA), the Department of Rural Rehabilitation and Development (DRRD), the Afghanistan Red Crescent Society (ARCS), UN Agencies, NGOs and ISAF.

HIGHLIGHTS

- Some 355 fatalities have been reported so far in the four provinces of Herat, Farah, Badghis, and Ghor.

- Remote areas, especially in Ghor and Badghis remain difficult to reach.

- Needs remain the same: food for vulnerable communities, Non-Food Items (NFIs), particularly blankets, clothing, tarpaulins, heaters, fuel for cooking, heating and fodder for livestock.

SITUATION

1. The harshest winter weather conditions in nearly 30 years have caused fatalities, hardship and major access problems in the Western Region, with unusually heavy snow falls over the past month. Temperatures have fallen below minus 25 degrees Celsius. The provinces of Herat, Farah, Badghis, and Ghor in Western Region are affected. More and more areas are becoming accessible as the major arterial routes are opened, however remote areas, especially in Ghor and Badghis remain difficult to reach. It is a matter of concern that assistance to Farah province remains extremely limited.

2. Three hundred fifty-five fatalities have been reported so far in the four provinces, in addition to a reported total of 63,880 livestock. The breakdown is as follows:

3. Priority needs remain the same:

- Food for vulnerable communities.

- Non-Food Items (NFI), particularly blankets, clothing, tarpaulins, heaters.

- Fuel for cooking and heating.

- Fodder for livestock.

4. There are sufficient resources in country; however delivery of assistance is an issue in view of access difficulties both due to winter and security conditions. Farah remains the least accessible, with only Farah city being open. Certain southern areas bordering Farah and Hilmand remain inaccessible.

NATIONAL RESPONSE

5. Provincial authorities are at the forefront of coordination efforts under the guidance of the provincial Governors supported by the Afghan National Disaster Management Authority (ANDMA), and the Department of Rural Rehabilitation and Development (DRRD).

7. Between 25-29 January, the Afghan Red Crescent (ARCS) assisted 300 winter affected families in Guzara district, Heart, with food and NFIs. This week, ARCS undertook needs assessment missions in Obe, Zendajan, and Chesht-I-Sharif. ARCS will send more assistance to these districts in the next few days. Since the beginning of the winter crisis in Herat, ARCS assessed 2,503 families in different districts of Herat while it has so far managed to provide humanitarian assistance only to 856 families. In addition, ARCS health teams have provided basic medications to 2,559 patients in different districts of Herat.

8. Several private companies in Herat have donated food, mainly oil and rice, to approximately 1,300 families in the province.

9. The Governor of Herat province is leading a joint mission consisting of ARCS, DRRD, PC and the Department of Agriculture to Kabul to brief President Karzai about the winter situation in Herat and the assistance provided. The mission is seeking support from the central government for the winter affected communities in Herat.

INTERNATIONAL RESPONSE

10. IDPs living in camps near Herat have suffered greatly from the recent snowfalls and intense cold. The UN agencies and CRS have started a relief operation providing 2,500 households with food, NFIs and fuel. The operation should be finalized next week. The DoRR and ANDMA are involved in the assessments. UN agencies and CRS, in coordination with the DoRR and ANDMA, are currently providing assistance to 2, 500 IDP families in Herat camps (1,700 families in Maslakh camp, 650 families in Shaidai camp, and 150 families in Minaret camp). UNHCR, WFP, UNICEF and IOM are providing food and NFIs including pulses, sugar and wheat, blankets, plastic sheeting, clothing and soap. CRS is providing some USD30-vouchers for fuel. (See attached table "Humanitarian Assistance").

Distributions started on the 28 January from existing stocks.

11. The World Food Programme (WFP) has already delivered 8MT to Farsi district, Herat province.

12. UNHCR has additional jerry cans, soaps, plastic mats/sheets and kerosene heaters in Herat ready for distribution.

13. The Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs donated 300 blankets and 100 tents to the Governor's office of Herat.

14. World Vision International has distributed winter clothes to 1,502 beneficiaries in Ghor and the same to 1,767 beneficiaries in Badghis province.

15. The Korean Foundation for World Aid has provided rice and oil for 362 families in Ghuzara and Injil districts of Herat. They have also provided 560 families in Minaret camp in Herat with food.

16. ICRC has provided 24.4MT of food to Ghor province and 23.3MT of food for Herat province. All are distributed by ARCS.

17. Global Partners have allocated USD 40,000 to cash for work road clearance project in Ghor.

18. To address the issue of fodder for livestock, FAO's ERU (Emergency Rehabilitation Unit) has started applying for funding to provide fodder to affected livestock owners. Animal feed is produced in small mills in Balkh, Kunduz and Kabul and could be purchased when FAO accesses the funding.

19. In both Ghor and Badghis, the CDMTs have started to distribute the food, medicines and NFIs pre-positioned in the provincial capitals late November to the vulnerable families. In Ghor, the provincial authorities lack the capacity to implement the distributions. The humanitarian Regional Team is exploring ways to assist.

20. OCHA has allocated USD 64,102 in cash grants to purchase additional NFIs.

For detailed information please contact:

Desk Officer (New York)
Ms. Heidi Kuttab
Office Tel: + 1 917 367-3365
Office Fax: +1 212 963-3630
E-mail: kuttab@un.org

Humanitarian Affairs Officer GCMS (Geneva)
Ms. Aoibheann O'Keeffe
Office Tel: +41 22 917 4329
E-mail: okeeffe@un.org

OCHA Regional Office for the Middle East, North Africa and Central Asia
Mr. Abdul Haq Amiri
Head of Office Dubai
Office Tel. + 917 4 368 1022
Office Fax + 917 4 368 1023
E-mail: amiri@un.org

Press Contact:
(New York)
Ms. Stephanie Bunker
Office Tel : + 1 917-367-5126
Office Fax: + 1 212-963-1312
Email: bunker@un.org

Ms. Christina Bennett
Office Tel: + 1 917 367 8059
Office Fax: + 1 212 963 1312
Email: bennett1@un.org

(Geneva)
Ms. Elizabeth Byrs
Office Tel + 41 22 917 26 53
Office Fax + 41 22 917 00 20
E-mail: byrs@un.org