Afghanistan Weekly Situation Report 8-14 Jan 2004

I. SITUATION UPDATE
In the north, UN missions to Gusfandi and Kohistanat districts in Saripul province remained suspended. An improvised explosive device was discovered near UNAMA office in Mazari Sharif and removed safely. The anti-drug operation launched by the Coalition in the northeast is causing security concerns, including stopping and searching of UN vehicles. Sixteen WFP trucks were stopped and searched by armed police on the road between Fayz Abad and Kunduz.

In the east, military operations in Kunar and Nuristan provinces continued and all UN missions remain suspended throughout the region, including Nangarhar and Laghman provinces.

UN missions to southeastern and southern provinces remained impeded due to insecurity with missions on the Kabul-Gardez road, in the vicinity of Kandahar city and in Lashkargar district in Hilmand province, being cleared on a case-by-case basis. Several security incidents took place during the week in Kandahar city: Two bomb explosions killed 14 and injured 70 people. Two hand grenades exploded at the compounds of UNHCR and the Coordination of Afghan Aid, a local NGO, with no casualties.

In the west, UN missions on Shindand-Dilaram highway and to Bakwa and Bala Buluk districts in Farah province remained suspended. Two incidents of armed robbery involving international NGOs' vehicles with national staff took place on the road from Hirat to Baghdis.

II. PROGRAMME UPDATE

During the reporting period, 556,618 beneficiaries received 1,779 MT of food, as indicated below¹:

(Note: Beneficiaries in the table do not necessarily mean new beneficiaries. They may have been included in previous reports. Food distributed per beneficiary under different activities may vary, due to variation in rations in different projects. Information here is based on reports received from implementing partners.)

In addition, distribution of 45 MT of food to 250 Afghan families affected by the earthquake in Bam, Iran has been completed in Farah province. Some 35 families (210 beneficiaries) received 6 MT of food during the week. WFP is preparing to provide an additional 16 MT of food to 90 families expected to cross the Afghan Iranian border.

III. LOGISTICS UPDATE

1. IN-COUNTRY FOOD STOCK BALANCE³

2. LOGISTICS ISSUES

1,219 MT of food commodities were dispatched from external logistics hubs to extended delivery points inside Afghanistan, including:

• 10 MT of wheat flour and 297 MT of wheat from Peshawar to Jalal Abad;
• 349 MT of wheat flour from Peshawar to Kabul;
• 62 MT of yellow split peas from Pashawar to Fayz Abad; and
• 501 MT of wheat from Kurgan Tyube in Tajikistan to Kunduz.

IV. OTHER SIGNIFICANT ISSUES

COLLABORATION WITH COMMUNITIES, GOVERNMENT, NGOs and OTHER UN AGENCIES

In Balkh, Jawzjan and Samangan provinces, WFP met with the provincial Departments of Education (DoE) to follow-up on their readiness to take over the implementation of food-for-teachers activities, including the introduction of food-for-education focal persons and establishment of a coordination unit in the DoE office. WFP is currently assessing training needs of DoE staff and preparing a training budget. A one-day workshop was conducted, with participation of WFP food aid monitors, to build DoE's capacity to take over food-for-education activities in Bamyan province.

An Ogata Initiative prioritisation workshop was organised by the United Nations agencies in Mazari Sharif to identify and prioritise interventions for an integrated reconstruction and development programme in Balkh province. The funding for the forth phase of the Ogata Initiative will be released in January 2004.

In order to assess a need for a new bakery in Kabul city, WFP, with support of the community members, is currently identifying households in need of assistance. The survey covered 200 widow headed households. In Mazari Sharif, evaluation of ongoing bakery projects is underway.

WFP participated in a monthly winter preparedness coordination meeting for Kabul city, chaired by CARE International and attended by international NGOs, UNHCR and ECHO. Activities currently ongoing include cash for work, distribution of non-food items and provision of free food for widows headed households. Plans are being made to construct shelters for IDPs with USAID provided funding. In coordination with the Ministry of Refugees and Repatriation and UNHCR, WFP will provide 81 MT of food and cash to 322 IDP families staying in open areas in Kabul city.

WFP attended a monthly UN gender meeting on 14 January organised for briefing the UN agencies' gender focal points on women's participation in Constitutional Loya Jirga (CLJ) and sharing feedback on the orientation session organized for women delegates prior to the CLJ.

Footnotes

¹ Please note that:

- Fayz Abad refers to the WFP Fayz Abad Area Office, which includes the sub-office in Kunduz and the provinces of Badakhshan, Baghlan, Takhar and Kunduz.

- Mazari Sharif refers to the WFP Mazari Sharif Area Office, which includes the sub-office in Maymana and the provinces of Jawzjan, Balkh, Samangan, Sari Pul and Faryab.

- Kabul refers to the WFP Kabul Area Office, which includes the sub-offices in Jalal Abad and Bamyan and the provinces of Bamyan, Parwan, Wardak, Kapisa, Nuristan, Kunar, Laghman, Nangarhar, Kabul, Logar, Paktya, Khost, Paktika and Ghazni.

- Kandahar refers to the WFP Kandahar Area Office, which includes the provinces of Uruzgan, Zabul, Kandahar, Hilmand, and Nimroz.

- Hirat refers to the WFP Hirat Area Office, which includes the sub-office in Qalay-I-Naw and the provinces of Badghis, Ghor, Farah, Hirat.

² Food for education includes the following activities: school feeding, food for teachers, food for training and food for teacher training.

³ Data is based on reports from WFP area offices. It does not include food stocks in regional logistics hubs.