PRESS BRIEFING BY DEPUTY EMERGENCY RELIEF COORDINATOR

Donor countries were pledging considerable amounts of money, and humanitarian efforts were being coordinated regionally, to deal with the multifaceted crisis situation in Afghanistan, correspondents were told this afternoon at a Headquarters press briefing.

Carolyn McAskie, Deputy to the Secretary-General and Deputy Emergency Relief Coordinator for the Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said that all the United Nations Offices in countries bordering Afghanistan, such as Iran, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and Pakistan, had been brought under one “umbrella”, and additional staff had been assigned to those Offices.  The major agencies were also escalating their efforts to deal with any spillover effects in those countries from the situation in Afghanistan.

OCHA was very conscious of the need to be flexible in responding to the humanitarian needs of the Afghans, she said.  For example, the massive outflow of refugees that had been initially anticipated had not materialized for various reasons.  There had not yet been any military action that might precipitate flight.  It was widely known within Afghanistan that the Iranian and Pakistani borders were difficult to cross.  Moreover, there were reports of the Taliban taking families off buses and preventing them from leaving.  And the lack of transportation in Afghanistan impeded attempts to flee.

The focus at the moment was on the growing food and health crises within Afghanistan, she said.  Before 11 September, almost 4 million people were being fed as a result of the drought but now the World Food Programme (WFP) estimated that between 5 and 6 million would have to be fed over the winter under the current conditions.  OCHA was extremely concerned that conditions would continue to deteriorate rapidly as winter approached, when it would be even more difficult to get supplies in.  The World Health Organization (WHO) had posted a malaria alert and the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) was concerned that the already poor health conditions for an estimated one million pregnant women might be further exacerbated if they were forced on a long march.  At the moment, United Nations communications were very limited in Afghanistan and the aircraft ban imposed by the Taliban over the country was still in place, further hampering relief efforts.  Nevertheless, plans were being prepared to move rapidly should the go-ahead be received.    

In the meantime, there was good news from the WFP which had managed to bring convoys into the capital of Kabul, as well as into the north through Turkmenistan.  However, while a convoy was able to carry 500 metric tonnes, she cautioned that more than 50,000 metric tonnes would be needed per month to feed 6 million people.  The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) was also taking extraordinary measures to bring supplies in through convoys of donkeys wending their way through high mountain passes in the northwest.  Non-governmental organizations (NGOs) were also working valiantly and the donor response had been very good.

Although she did not have exact figures on all the donors so far, she cited a few as examples:  the United States had pledged $100 million;  Germany, $15 million as a starter;  Canada, $5 million as a starter;  the United Kingdom, $40 to $45 million;  Saudi Arabia, $500,000.  In addition, the Netherlands had

agreed to pay five per cent of the costs and other Scandinavian countries had indicated they would be making pledging announcements soon.  Iran and Pakistan were already carrying an enormous amount of the load, she added.

Kenzo Oshima, the Emergency Relief Coordinator, was currently in Teheran meeting with Iranian authorities who had indicated they were pleased with his visit and looked forward to cooperating with the United Nations to do everything the country could.  Mr. Oshima had assured them that the United Nations would do its best with the donor countries to ensure that any impact from the crisis in Afghanistan felt on Iranian soil would be well managed and well supported.

Ms. McAskie said that daily updates on the relief efforts were available through the United Nations home page on the web at www.un.org.   

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