Memorandum submitted by United Nations
Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA)
1. What are the
ongoing humanitarian needs, how adequately are they being addressed
and for how long will humanitarian assistance be required?
(a) Context
Afghanistan is struggling to recover from 23
years of conflict, displacement, near complete destruction of
infrastructure and a drought that continues today. The country
faces an acute shortage of resources to cover its recurrent and
operating costs, there is limited governance capacity and high
levels of vulnerability exist amongst Afghan communities. Despite
these challenges, there has been significant progress on several
fronts over this last year, and many opportunities exist for the
future.
(b) United Nations approach to humanitarian response
The UN has been intensely involved in responding
to the humanitarian crisis, through a medium to long-term approach,
whilst addressing critical immediate needs. The focus has been
on a multi-faceted response to allow us to collectively rebuild
communities, and to respond to the many components of food insecurity,
from the provision of food aid to creating jobs through cash for
work/labour intensive programmes, to better health care and expanded
basic social services; from refugee return to sustainable livelihoods,
and providing expanded basic social services.
(c) Continuing humanitarian challenges
Reintegration of refugees: We have witnessed
a massive voluntary repatriation operation far beyond anyone's
predictions, with some 1.7 million refugees returning to Afghanistan
from Iran, Pakistan and the Central Asian states. Of these, around
one million have returned to Kabul and Nangarhar provinces. This
makes it the largest repatriation operation in the world since
1972. To ensure more sustainable reintegration, the repatriation
process is led and coordinated by the Ministry of Refugees and
Repatriation and UNHCR in partnership with the Ministry of Rural
Reconstruction and Development and Ministry of Urban Affairs.
The challenge is to assist returnees to rebuild their lives, work
and school their children in communities of return, in other words
to ensure sustainable livelihoods—jobs, social services,
and alleviating debt—despite ethnic tensions and/or drought
which prevent some from returning home. There has been new internal
displacement in 2002 because of such tensions, and assistance
will continue to be required. The coverage and quality of health
services, and the demand for more schools adds to the challenge,
at a time when there is a "push" factor from Iran and
Pakistan for refugees to return to their country.
In 2003, UNHCR and its partners are planning
for a 1.5 million beneficiary figure, ie 500,000 returnees from
Iran, 600,000 from Pakistan and 100,000 from other countries,
as well as 300,000 returning internally displaced persons (IDPs).
UNHCR will continue some activities (eg emergency assistance)
on behalf of the projected residual IDP caseload, estimated at
300,000.
Protection and Relief for IDPs: More
than 400,000 internally displaced persons (IDPs) have also returned
to their areas of origin, 200,000 of which were assisted returns
by UNHCR. A number of IDP camps in the west and in Kabul were
closed or considerably downsized following the return of IDPs
to their places of origin. In spite of these returns, real difficulties
are still faced by hundreds of thousands of other IDPs. Minority
Pashtuns who have fled from the North and are waiting to return
to their homes in the north, and Kuchis (nomads) deprived
of their means of livelihood by persistent drought and conflict.
Many others whose home provinces are still affected by drought
remain unable to return. Humanitarian assistance and protection
activities will thus continue to be required for these groups
for at least another year. For the mainly drought-affected IDPs
it remains crucial to engage in defining and supporting long-term
rehabilitation strategies involving multi-sectoral approaches,
including a strategy for the management of the scarce water resources
of the drought affected regions.
Child and Maternal Mortality: Afghanistan has
some of the worst health and nutrition indicators in the world.
As in most developing countries women and children suffer most.
The under five mortality ratio of 256/1,000 live births and the
infant mortality ratio of 165/1,000 live births are the third
highest in the world. In Afghanistan, measles has caused an estimated
35,000 deaths per year. Unfortunately in 2001, routine immunisation,
which relies on a functioning infrastructure, was only able to
reach less than 50 per cent of children. The maternal mortality
ratio (MMR) in Afghanistan, according to a recent study in four
provinces, is about 2,000/100,000 live births, which is the highest
in the world. Between 40 per cent and 60 per cent of children
have chronic malnutrition (stunting) and approximately 10 per
cent have acute malnutrition (wasting).
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