“About six million of the Afghan population completely or partly depend on humanitarian assistance from abroad”, Mr. Kenzo Oshima, the UN Undersecretary General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs stated at a press conference in Dushanbe on 27 October, - “Three million of the most vulnerable people are located in the northern provinces of the country. In the near future, this figure can reach 7,5 million”. The coming winter complicates the situation, especially as donor funds are arriving slowly. The problem of Afghanistan should be considered at the regional level, barring which it would be impossible to solve it.

The Undersecretary is rounding up his trip in Central Asia, which aimed to coordinate actions on rendering emergency relief assistance to the refugees and IDPs in Afghanistan. Mr. Oshima says that three quarters of relief items will be delivered to the northern provinces of Afghanistan, the most affected by war.

Agreements have been reached with the governments of three countries – Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan – on the provision of their territories for relief operations and aid delivery to the Afghans. Tajikistan is in that respect the best strategic partner. Mr. Oshima said that Tajik President Emomali Rakhmonov expressed his strong commitment and readiness to contribute in rendering assistance to the people in neighboring Afghanistan. Tajikistan will provide its airport in its southern province of Khatlon, its roads and transportation systems; a portion of humanitarian deliveries will be carried out via the ferry crossing over the river Pyanj, in the southern Parkhar district. Mr. Matthew Kahane, the UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator in Tajikistan is now coordinating a special committee on emergency relief operations, members of which will include officials of the Tajikistan government, including the Ministry for Emergency.

Mr. Oshima said that during his short visit, he managed to see a lot in Tajikistan. He was shocked by his visit to provinces affected by drought. According to the WFP, 1.3 million people out of the total population of 6.2 million are on the brink of starvation. Mr. Kahane says 80% of Tajikistan’s population live under the margin of poverty, and that the official rate of unemployment is not less that 30%. Such a situation demands an urgent intervention by the international community. Last year, the UN emergency appeal was seeking $ 75 million for Tajikistan. Regrettably, only 45% of this sum was provided by donors. Mr. Oshima says that the appeal for 2002 will be seeking for $ 75 million.

An emergency situation has been existing for quite some time in the region, and has deteriorated due to drought and the September 11 events. The humanitarian situation is very complicated this year, and is unusual in many respects. Practically, all Central Asian countries have been affected by drought, along with some provinces of Pakistan, China and areas of Korean peninsula. Last year’s drought was the worst in 74 years, and destroyed food crops over a large part of Tajikistan, rendering almost half of the country’s population vulnerable to the threat of famine. The harvest in two preceding years had also been poor. International relief agencies accredited in Tajikistan launched emergency appeals addressed to foreign donors. However the donors only partly covered the initial requirements. Experts say that chronic malnutrition rates in the country are over 40%, while two-thirds of the population subsist on under a dollar a day.

In the light of events in Afghanistan, the problems caused by a five-year war, stagnation in the economy, natural and man-made calamities in Tajikistan, have become especially visible. Mr. Kahane considers that the situation can be improved by creating favorable conditions for small businesses and farming.

As for Afghanistan, UN officials say that the process of delivery of relief items to the Afghan provinces is technically and logistically complicated; it is even more complicated to arrange distribution of these items. UN humanitarian agencies are considering possibilities for the return of their international staff to some of the Afghan provinces, such as Faizabad, where the security situation is more or less satisfactory.

The fight against terrorism entails casualties among the civil population. The U.S. carries a responsibility before the civil population for the consequences of its air strikes in Afghanistan. In the last year, the U.S. allocated $180 million, and are going to provide another $320 million, for relief operations in Afghanistan. Mr. Oshima says that donors are pledging to donate a total of $720 million for humanitarian operations, but the funds are coming slowly, which encumbers carrying out emergency relief operations and weakens their efficiency.