1. EMERGENCY OVERVIEW AND RECENT DEVELOPMENTS
Afghanistan faces crisis of conflict and drought Afghans are suffering from the long-term impact of conflict and its related consequences such as severe weakening of the infrastructure and human resource base, as well as death, injury and trauma. In addition, since last year, Afghans are also experiencing the most serious drought in 30 years.

Massive displacements throughout the country

Over 12 million Afghans are estimated to be affected by the recent drought and over 1 million risk severe malnutrition/starvation (according to WFP reports/studies). This situation has resulted in a new Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) flow of over 500,000 (300,000 drought- and 200,000 conflict-affected) since summer 2000. An estimated 177,000 Afghans entered Pakistan between September 2000 and February 2001. Afghans have been enduring displacement since the commencement of the conflict in 1979, and by now, their coping mechanisms and safety nets are almost completely depleted and worn out. Consequently, further deterioration of the situation will result in a complete loss of assets for many Afghan families and will practically leave no choice but to move to new locations with more security and/or some hope of assistance from the international community. A cold spell in late January (down to –25°C in some sites) led to increased mortality amongst IDP children and elderly, already weakened by days of walking, chronic malnutrition and infection, and especially in Herat and Mazar.

During 2000, over 100,000 Afghans were repatriated from Iran, and the process of deportation/voluntary repatriation continues from both Iran and Pakistan. More recently, as a result of the increased conflict and human rights situation in the Central Highlands, around Bamyan and Yakowlang, over 40,000 people have left the region for various destinations. Still there are over 150,000 displaced people in Kabul and Panjshir from the fighting of 1999.

Afghanistan is facing a serious humanitarian crisis that has never been witnessed in the past. Children and women are particularly vulnerable, especially with the various restrictions/bans on women’s work and movement. It is a challenge to reach children and women within families, in spite of the restrictions, to ensure their multiple needs are understood and addressed.

2. CURRENT IDP SITUATION AND UNICEF’S RESPONSE

Overview of specific IDP locations

Western Afghanistanshares the border with Iran to the west and Turkmenistan to the north. The drought has resulted in an average of 75% loss in crops and 50% reduction in livestock assets. Many drought-affected people have been forced to migrate from these neighbouring provinces to Herat in search for humanitarian assistance. Herat has the highest concentration of people in IDP camps in Afghanistan. There are six IDP camps in Herat with some 90,000 people, the majority of whom are women and children. Numbers will.increase, as over 2,000 people a week are arriving.

Southern regionhas five provinces with some 3 million people in Helmand, Nimroz, Zabul, Kandahar and Oruzgan provinces. There are about 24,000 extremely vulnerable IDP families scattered in more than 210 locations. The two most affected provinces are Helmand and Kandahar. In addition to the vast number of people affected by the drought due to a lack of agricultural harvest, a large number of people have lost their livestock in the region.

The Northern regionborders Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan and consists of Balkh, Baghlan, Kunduz, Faryab, Jowzjan, Samangan and Saripul provinces. The estimated IDP population in this region is over 116,000 (both drought- and conflict-IDPs). There are 51,000 IDPs living in 27 different camps/shelters in Balkh, Baghlan and Kunduz provinces. Of the total population in camps, some 44% are children under 18 years and 30% women.

North-Eastern Region: Takhar and Badakshan provinces border Tajikistan in the northeastern part of Afghanistan. Until August 2000, the Northern Alliance had full territorial control over both provinces. In late August, the Taliban initiated a major offensive to dislodge alliance forces from these areas, and as a consequence major displacement of civilian population took place. A large group of people moved towards north and northeastern part of Takhar and Badakhshan provinces. The authorities have estimated that 116,000 people have been displaced during the last offensive and have taken shelter in 12 locations of Badakshan and Takhar provinces. A large population crossed the frontline and moved into the northern provinces of Kunduz and Baghlan, presently under the control of Taliban. About 10,000 people have moved to Faizabad city in Badakshan province and those remaining have taken shelter in Takhar province.

Central Region: Since September 1999, over 20,000 IDPs from the Shomali plains have been living in the ex-Soviet Compound in Kabul. An unknown number of IDPs are also scattered amongst families in Kabul. It is unlikely that this group of IDPs will return to Shomali as their homes and agriculture were almost completely destroyed by the scorched-earth policy of the Taliban. In the past weeks, Kabul witnessed a new wave of IDP families from the drought and conflict affected areas of Hazarajat. Some had walked for over 17 days and there are reports of children having died on the way. In addition, over 50,000 Shomali IDPs continue to live in the Panjshir valley.

UNICEF’s response from June 2000 to February 2001

UNICEF has provided assistance in the areas of health, water/sanitation and non-food items in the past months through its sub-offices and outposts, in coordination and collaboration with UNOCHA, other UN sister agencies, INGOs and NGOs. In total, UNICEF has spent over US$ 1.3 million on IDP emergency activities between June 2000 and February 2001 (excluding vaccination which used existing supplies in stock). Over US$ 500,000 has been spent on activities to support IDPs in Herat alone..

PRIORITY AREAS FOR UNICEF ASSISTNACE: MARCH-AUGUST 2001

1. Immunization

Vaccination coverage in Afghanistan has been low (15-30%) for a number of years, mainly due to the lack of health services, and therefore, measles outbreaks are common. As children of IDPs and the families living close to them are at constant risk, all children under 15 years will be given measles vaccination either when they are entering the camp (transit centre), via routine immunization (EPI) services or through measles campaigns. Vitamin A supplementation will also be given at this time.

2. Provision of essential drugs

UNICEF will provide essential drug kits to Ministry of Public Health (MoPH), NGOs and partners. By procuring and pre-positioning essential medicines and supplies, UNICEF hopes to better manage disease outbreaks such as diarrhoea/cholera, measles, malaria or other acute infections, in case they occur amongst the IDPs. UNICEF will support NGOs to provide basic services (provision of essential drugs/materials/equipments etc) in their operating areas and to expand their services to new areas.

3. Women's health needs

Pregnant women will be given delivery kits and will be advised on the danger of the complications that may occur. Where possible, Traditional Birth Attendants (TBAs) will be identified in each camp (1 TBA for 2,000 individuals) and supported by the provision of basic training (short, modified training of 8-10 days) and TBA delivery kits. This training will be conducted by an NGO with UNICEF/WHO support. Linkages between the TBAs and the clinic staff (preferably female) will be essential and a monitoring/reporting system will be put in place by the concerned NGO. Referral linkages for obstetric emergencies will be established. Women will also be provided with sanitary materials and soap. A baby package (a blanket and clothes for the newborn) will be given to every newborn 'registered' with a health facility.

4. Nutritional assessment and surveillance

Considering the crops failures due to drought, the nutritional status of children is likely to deteriorate in the next 6 months. A nutrition surveillance system, to collect and interpret available nutrition and health information, will be established. This information will be used to detect early warning signs, assess the impact of ongoing interventions and may be used to respond quickly to prevent severe malnutrition and even deaths of children.

5. Therapeutic and supplementary feeding for malnourished children

UNICEF plans to provide therapeutic feeding to some 1,000 severely malnourished children (who require intensive feeding support as well as intensive medical support to prevent deaths) and supplementary feeding to 5,000 children (who will receive a food ration along with health services to prevent them from becoming severely malnourished (curative) for the next six months). A mixture of wet (cooked ration) and dry feeding (extra food provision in addition to the normal ration to the identified vulnerable groups, i.e. children under 5 or pregnant/lactating women) as well as blanket distribution will be used in different regions based on the situation at hand.

6. Provision of safe drinking water, sanitation and hygiene education

With on-going assessment of the situation, activities to mitigate the affects of drought and to support IDPs will continue. In IDP camps, repair/improvement of existing dugwells, of existing handpumps, construction of new borewells with handpumps, chlorination of water wells, installation of sanitary latrines, bathing facilities and disposal bins will be expedited. Supply of water, through water tankers, to new IDP camps will be supported. Training will be conducted for local masons on sanitary latrines construction and social mobilizers (community health workers) on improved hygiene practices to disseminate hygiene messages.

7. Provision of basic non-food items

As the cold season will continue until April in some locations, winter clothes (such as sweaters) and shoes will continue to be procured to protect children. Firewood and kitchen utensils will also be provided. As part of UNICEF contingency plans, a family kit will be developed and pre-positioned in the volatile regions.

8. Education

The current IDP situation will most probably persist into the foreseeable future. There is thus a great need to address the development/education needs of the children. Education helps to bring back a sense of stability and normalcy in the lives of IDP children, and consequently, strengthen their psychosocial wellbeing. Flexible schooling opportunities for girls and boys, if permitted by the authorities, presents a viable solution. These education activities will target all children in the IDP camps, but will only be undertaken on condition that both girls and boys will be able to participate. Activities will therefore target the girl child and other disadvantaged children in the IDP camps specifically.

9. Protection of children and women

Opportunities will be sought to develop protection/psychosocial interventions with partners in the concerned regions, including establishing support networks, recreational and sports activities. This is a big challenge in Afghanistan where there are very few partners with experience in this area of work. These networks will also be utilized for the purpose of monitoring the rights situation of.the children and women, to the extent possible, in the current context of Afghanistan (including physical/emotional security, ethnic/linguistic discrimination and recruitment by armed forces).

Logistics, coordination and monitoring

At national level, there will be an emergency officer (IP), a nutrition officer (IP), and an assistant. The role of the emergency officer will be to coordinate the overall operation. At the regional level, three regional teams of 5-10 national staff will be contracted to assist the UNICEF emergency operation on the ground. The regional teams will comprise of nutritionists, cold chain/logistics assistants, nutrition assistants and other helpers. In order to assess the situation effectively with sensitivity to gender and to monitor the implementation of planned activities, UNICEF will also need to hire temporary local staff will skills in project management, water/sanitation and public health. These staff members will work closely with implementing partners and report to concerned UNICEF-field offices.

3. APPEAL REQUIREMENTS AND RECEIPTS

In November 2000, UNICEF, along with other UN agencies, requested US$ 6.36 million to cover the implementation costs of the 2001 Afghanistan emergency programme. The table below gives a breakdown of the allocations, by sector.

2001 APPEAL REQUIREMENTS AS OF MONTH 2001
Sector	Target (US$)	Funded (US$)	% Funded	Unfunded (US$)
Immunization	3,795,000	2,725,425	71	1,069,575
Water/Sanitation	800,000	0	0	800,000
Safe Motherhood	465,000	0	0	465,000
Integrated PHC*	400,000	0	0	400,000
Education	800,000	476,200	59	323,800
Protection/Promotion	100,000	204,385	204	0
2000 Carry-over	-	280,673	-	-
Total	6,360,000	3,686,683	57	3,058,375

* Primary Health Care

The table and graph below give an overview of the contributions to the 2001 Appeal, by donor.

DONORS FUNDS RECEIVED FOR 2001 APPEAL AS OF MARCH 2001
Donor	Income/Pledge (US$)	Purpose
Rotary International (RI)	450,009	EPI
Centre for Disease Control (CDC)	1,656,635	EPI
CDC	323,377	EPI
US	69,525	EPI
International Development Research (IDR)	27,456	EPI
Sweden	198,423	EPI
Japan	476,200	Education
Norway	204,385	Protection
2000 Carry-over	280,673	Education/Survival
Total funded	3,686,647

* These amounts do not include the 5 % indirect programme support costs.

* Amounts under US$ 50,000 appear as "0"

In light of recent displacements, the Afghanistan office has developed an Emergency Plan of US$ 3,795,750 (covering March-August 2001) to respond to the earlier mentioned urgent needs of IDPs, scattered in different parts of the country. To begin implementing the Plan, UNICEF has "pre-positioned" US$ 650,000 from its Emergency Programme Funds (EPF), on 14 February 2000. As soon as donor contributions are received, these funds will be replenished. So far, only two contributions have been received: US$ 180,000 from the UNICEF German National Committee and US$ 351,864 from the Danish government. The table below shows the current status of funding, by sector.

EMERGENCY PLAN MAR-AUG 2001 REQUIREMENTS AND FUNDING AS OF MARCH 2001
Sector	Target (US$)	Funded (US$)	% Funded	Unfunded (US$)
Immunisation	420,000	0	0	420,000
Womens’ Health / Essential drugs / Disease outbreaks	440,000	351,864	79	88,136
Water/Sanitation	450,000	0	0	450,000
Nutrition	720,000	0	0	720,000
Education/Protection	100,000	0	0	100,000
Non food items	545,000	180,000	33	365,000
Management /logistics	940,000	0	0	940,000
Administrative costs (5 %)	180,750	25,566	14	155,184
Total	3,795,750	557,430	14	3,238,320

Of the US$ 6,360,000 requested in the 2001 Joint Appeal, US$ 3,058,375 remains unfunded.

4. IMPACT OF UNDERFUNDING AND CURRENT PRIORITIES

UNICEF will focus its assistance on the implementation of the emergency plan for IDP’s in the period March - August 2001 as described above. UNICEF has been able to pre-position basic supplies. However, additional resources are required to take ongoing activities to a larger scale, to prevent further casualties and to mitigate the effects of displacement on children’s well-being. Under funding may prevent UNICEF from fulfilling its core corporate commitments, with an increased risk of disease, acute malnutrition and death for IDP children. Therefore Nutrition, Non-food items and Water/Sanitation are indicated as the priority areas for funding.

PRIORITY REQUIREMENTS AS OF MARCH 2001
Project	Beneficiaries/coverage	Amount Required (US$)
1. Nutrition	100,000 children under-5, including 6,000 malnourished	720,000
2. Non food items	300,000 IDP women and children	545,000
3. Water and sanitation	65,000 IDPs (children, women and men)	450,000

Details of the UNICEF Afghanistan Programme can be obtained from:

Solofo Ramaroson
UNICEF Country Office
Afghanistan
Tel: 92 51 221949-51
Fax: 92 51 212836
E-mail: sramaroson@unicef.org

Robin Medforth-Mills
UNICEF EMOPS
Geneva
Tel: + 41 22 909 5554
Fax: + 41 22 909 5902
E-mail:rmmills@unicef.org

Dan Rohrmann
UNICEF PFO
New York
Tel: + 1 212 326 7009
Fax: + 1 212 326 7165
E-mail:drohrmann@unicef.org

For more information, visit the UNICEF website at http://www.unicef.org