Oxfam say food and time running out for the people of Aghanistan
Oxfam: forwarded by reader (not Oxfam) | 07.11.2001 10:38
1/11/01 - Oxfam International briefing paper
Food has now run out for many Afghan people
For over four weeks Oxfam International has been increasingly concerned about the deteriorating humanitarian situation in Afghanistan. We have been calling on all parties for a pause in military action and for the WFP (World Food Programme) to urgently step up the trucking of food into Afghanistan before winter sets in. We now fear that time is running out for some communities. For others, time will run out if food deliveries do not dramatically increase in the next weeks and months.
This failure by the international community to deliver enough food, combined with growing insecurity, has left hundreds of thousands of people suffering acute food shortages. In some areas of acute need, the bombing and the increased fighting from the Taliban and Northern Alliance has added to a climate of fear that has made many truck drivers and aid workers too frightened to work.
Given the significant differences across Afghanistan, both in terms of need and access, any options must be specifically designed to meet the conditions on the ground. This may require a range of actors negotiating access to different areas of the country, and different approaches according to local conditions. They must reach all Afghans in need including those who may become trapped in their villages by the coming snows and spreading violence. This will require a flexible approach that draws from the local knowledge of Afghan organisations and international agencies operating on the ground.
Oxfam is therefore calling for:
The trucking of food to be dramatically increased to areas where access is still possible (including most of the central provinces of Bamyan, Uruzgan and Wardak). There are still thousands of people that can and must be reached by a significantly increased delivery of food into Afghanistan by land, and by air drops and lifts into secure zones. Greater diplomatic pressure is required to ensure that neighbouring countries are facilitating trucking into Afghanistan by easing bureaucracy at borders. This is a priority option for zones considered accessible and will require increased efforts by WFP to move higher quantities of food into the country.
The UN, the ICRC, and the coalition governments to consider more radical options for some regions (including parts of Faryab, Ghor, Balkh and Badghis) where food is already running out. This could include the negotiation of safe routes and safe zones for food delivery, and air drops. We know that some of these options are not the most effective way to get food to people, and that trucking would have been better. But given the level of the crisis in some areas, all options must now be considered. It should not be forgotten that the Geneva Conventions clearly establish the obligation of all warring parties to ensure that food and medical supplies reach civilians.
A pause in all military action, including air strikes, at least in some zones so that food stores within the country can be replenished. The specific areas and timing should be negotiated and co-ordinated by the United Nations. We believe that this would remove an important fear that is preventing truck drivers from working in some areas of acute need.
The food situation
New food aid is moving into some parts of Afghanistan. But seven provinces in the north, north-west and centre of Afghanistan include areas of acute concern. Reports of deteriorating security, and the rapid onset of winter in mountainous areas come on top of the existing need for substantial food aid. Oxfam draws this conclusion from WFP estimates in July predicting that food would run out within 3-6 months in these selected areas. While there is no reliable information about population movements since September, there are also no reports of significant numbers of refugees from these provinces. This suggests that the majority of people are still in their homes and may have even been joined by people fleeing the cities.
At the start of November, some new food (albeit limited amounts) is entering the country, and winter is closing in. WFP’s earlier projections suggest that parts of Afghanistan are on the threshold of a far deeper crisis. It is now likely that:
In the north and north-west, in parts of the four provinces of Badghis, Faryab, Ghor, and Balkh, 400,000 people are already suffering acute food shortages. At least 1,300,000 will probably have little or no food by the end of December. At least 700,000 of these live in Faryab.
Around 350,000 people in Badghis, Ghor, and Faryab are located in areas soon to be largely cut off by the onset of snows during November. After that, aid will only be able to get through with extraordinary measures to keep overland routes open or supply by air.
In the north-east, in parts of Badakhshan, around 260,000 people will be largely cut off by the onset of winter this month, and will have little or no food by the end of December. They too will need especial efforts to get aid to them.
In the central provinces of Bamyan, Uruzgan and Wardak, 13 of the 25 districts may be largely cut off during winter because of their high terrain, affecting over 540,000 people.
Oxfam and its partner organisations continue to deliver assistance in some of these areas, where security allows. Our current aid is mostly food purchased locally through Oxfam grants, and distributing food supplied by WFP in the central highlands and north-east. In Ghor, Badghis and the mountainous parts of Herat and Farah, we will be doing everything possible to support partners to keep roads open during the winter.
The war further complicates this picture, because even in the zones that are not cut off by winter snows, accessibility for aid workers is severely limited by insecurity. Taliban soldiers and other militias have looted aid offices in Kandahar, Mazar-e-Sharif, Ghana, Kunduz and other areas. Insecurity in Kandahar and Herat is due to a break down of law and order; in Ghor and Badghis it is due to increased fighting between the Taliban and Northern Alliance. Continued bombing in most parts of north and central Afghanistan, and the use of cluster bombs, have created a climate of fear that severely limits the ability of WFP and other agencies to continue food deliveries. Islamic NGOs that are currently delivering food into the east believe that they could do much more if fear by truckers could be diminished.
1/11/01 - Oxfam International briefing paper
Food has now run out for many Afghan people
For over four weeks Oxfam International has been increasingly concerned about the deteriorating humanitarian situation in Afghanistan. We have been calling on all parties for a pause in military action and for the WFP (World Food Programme) to urgently step up the trucking of food into Afghanistan before winter sets in. We now fear that time is running out for some communities. For others, time will run out if food deliveries do not dramatically increase in the next weeks and months.
This failure by the international community to deliver enough food, combined with growing insecurity, has left hundreds of thousands of people suffering acute food shortages. In some areas of acute need, the bombing and the increased fighting from the Taliban and Northern Alliance has added to a climate of fear that has made many truck drivers and aid workers too frightened to work.
Given the significant differences across Afghanistan, both in terms of need and access, any options must be specifically designed to meet the conditions on the ground. This may require a range of actors negotiating access to different areas of the country, and different approaches according to local conditions. They must reach all Afghans in need including those who may become trapped in their villages by the coming snows and spreading violence. This will require a flexible approach that draws from the local knowledge of Afghan organisations and international agencies operating on the ground.
Oxfam is therefore calling for:
The trucking of food to be dramatically increased to areas where access is still possible (including most of the central provinces of Bamyan, Uruzgan and Wardak). There are still thousands of people that can and must be reached by a significantly increased delivery of food into Afghanistan by land, and by air drops and lifts into secure zones. Greater diplomatic pressure is required to ensure that neighbouring countries are facilitating trucking into Afghanistan by easing bureaucracy at borders. This is a priority option for zones considered accessible and will require increased efforts by WFP to move higher quantities of food into the country.
The UN, the ICRC, and the coalition governments to consider more radical options for some regions (including parts of Faryab, Ghor, Balkh and Badghis) where food is already running out. This could include the negotiation of safe routes and safe zones for food delivery, and air drops. We know that some of these options are not the most effective way to get food to people, and that trucking would have been better. But given the level of the crisis in some areas, all options must now be considered. It should not be forgotten that the Geneva Conventions clearly establish the obligation of all warring parties to ensure that food and medical supplies reach civilians.
A pause in all military action, including air strikes, at least in some zones so that food stores within the country can be replenished. The specific areas and timing should be negotiated and co-ordinated by the United Nations. We believe that this would remove an important fear that is preventing truck drivers from working in some areas of acute need.
The food situation
New food aid is moving into some parts of Afghanistan. But seven provinces in the north, north-west and centre of Afghanistan include areas of acute concern. Reports of deteriorating security, and the rapid onset of winter in mountainous areas come on top of the existing need for substantial food aid. Oxfam draws this conclusion from WFP estimates in July predicting that food would run out within 3-6 months in these selected areas. While there is no reliable information about population movements since September, there are also no reports of significant numbers of refugees from these provinces. This suggests that the majority of people are still in their homes and may have even been joined by people fleeing the cities.
At the start of November, some new food (albeit limited amounts) is entering the country, and winter is closing in. WFP’s earlier projections suggest that parts of Afghanistan are on the threshold of a far deeper crisis. It is now likely that:
In the north and north-west, in parts of the four provinces of Badghis, Faryab, Ghor, and Balkh, 400,000 people are already suffering acute food shortages. At least 1,300,000 will probably have little or no food by the end of December. At least 700,000 of these live in Faryab.
Around 350,000 people in Badghis, Ghor, and Faryab are located in areas soon to be largely cut off by the onset of snows during November. After that, aid will only be able to get through with extraordinary measures to keep overland routes open or supply by air.
In the north-east, in parts of Badakhshan, around 260,000 people will be largely cut off by the onset of winter this month, and will have little or no food by the end of December. They too will need especial efforts to get aid to them.
In the central provinces of Bamyan, Uruzgan and Wardak, 13 of the 25 districts may be largely cut off during winter because of their high terrain, affecting over 540,000 people.
Oxfam and its partner organisations continue to deliver assistance in some of these areas, where security allows. Our current aid is mostly food purchased locally through Oxfam grants, and distributing food supplied by WFP in the central highlands and north-east. In Ghor, Badghis and the mountainous parts of Herat and Farah, we will be doing everything possible to support partners to keep roads open during the winter.
The war further complicates this picture, because even in the zones that are not cut off by winter snows, accessibility for aid workers is severely limited by insecurity. Taliban soldiers and other militias have looted aid offices in Kandahar, Mazar-e-Sharif, Ghana, Kunduz and other areas. Insecurity in Kandahar and Herat is due to a break down of law and order; in Ghor and Badghis it is due to increased fighting between the Taliban and Northern Alliance. Continued bombing in most parts of north and central Afghanistan, and the use of cluster bombs, have created a climate of fear that severely limits the ability of WFP and other agencies to continue food deliveries. Islamic NGOs that are currently delivering food into the east believe that they could do much more if fear by truckers could be diminished.
1/11/01 - Oxfam International briefing paper
Food has now run out for many Afghan people
For over four weeks Oxfam International has been increasingly concerned about the deteriorating humanitarian situation in Afghanistan. We have been calling on all parties for a pause in military action and for the WFP (World Food Programme) to urgently step up the trucking of food into Afghanistan before winter sets in. We now fear that time is running out for some communities. For others, time will run out if food deliveries do not dramatically increase in the next weeks and months.
This failure by the international community to deliver enough food, combined with growing insecurity, has left hundreds of thousands of people suffering acute food shortages. In some areas of acute need, the bombing and the increased fighting from the Taliban and Northern Alliance has added to a climate of fear that has made many truck drivers and aid workers too frightened to work.
Given the significant differences across Afghanistan, both in terms of need and access, any options must be specifically designed to meet the conditions on the ground. This may require a range of actors negotiating access to different areas of the country, and different approaches according to local conditions. They must reach all Afghans in need including those who may become trapped in their villages by the coming snows and spreading violence. This will require a flexible approach that draws from the local knowledge of Afghan organisations and international agencies operating on the ground.
Oxfam is therefore calling for:
The trucking of food to be dramatically increased to areas where access is still possible (including most of the central provinces of Bamyan, Uruzgan and Wardak). There are still thousands of people that can and must be reached by a significantly increased delivery of food into Afghanistan by land, and by air drops and lifts into secure zones. Greater diplomatic pressure is required to ensure that neighbouring countries are facilitating trucking into Afghanistan by easing bureaucracy at borders. This is a priority option for zones considered accessible and will require increased efforts by WFP to move higher quantities of food into the country.
The UN, the ICRC, and the coalition governments to consider more radical options for some regions (including parts of Faryab, Ghor, Balkh and Badghis) where food is already running out. This could include the negotiation of safe routes and safe zones for food delivery, and air drops. We know that some of these options are not the most effective way to get food to people, and that trucking would have been better. But given the level of the crisis in some areas, all options must now be considered. It should not be forgotten that the Geneva Conventions clearly establish the obligation of all warring parties to ensure that food and medical supplies reach civilians.
A pause in all military action, including air strikes, at least in some zones so that food stores within the country can be replenished. The specific areas and timing should be negotiated and co-ordinated by the United Nations. We believe that this would remove an important fear that is preventing truck drivers from working in some areas of acute need.
The food situation
New food aid is moving into some parts of Afghanistan. But seven provinces in the north, north-west and centre of Afghanistan include areas of acute concern. Reports of deteriorating security, and the rapid onset of winter in mountainous areas come on top of the existing need for substantial food aid. Oxfam draws this conclusion from WFP estimates in July predicting that food would run out within 3-6 months in these selected areas. While there is no reliable information about population movements since September, there are also no reports of significant numbers of refugees from these provinces. This suggests that the majority of people are still in their homes and may have even been joined by people fleeing the cities.
At the start of November, some new food (albeit limited amounts) is entering the country, and winter is closing in. WFP’s earlier projections suggest that parts of Afghanistan are on the threshold of a far deeper crisis. It is now likely that:
In the north and north-west, in parts of the four provinces of Badghis, Faryab, Ghor, and Balkh, 400,000 people are already suffering acute food shortages. At least 1,300,000 will probably have little or no food by the end of December. At least 700,000 of these live in Faryab.
Around 350,000 people in Badghis, Ghor, and Faryab are located in areas soon to be largely cut off by the onset of snows during November. After that, aid will only be able to get through with extraordinary measures to keep overland routes open or supply by air.
In the north-east, in parts of Badakhshan, around 260,000 people will be largely cut off by the onset of winter this month, and will have little or no food by the end of December. They too will need especial efforts to get aid to them.
In the central provinces of Bamyan, Uruzgan and Wardak, 13 of the 25 districts may be largely cut off during winter because of their high terrain, affecting over 540,000 people.
Oxfam and its partner organisations continue to deliver assistance in some of these areas, where security allows. Our current aid is mostly food purchased locally through Oxfam grants, and distributing food supplied by WFP in the central highlands and north-east. In Ghor, Badghis and the mountainous parts of Herat and Farah, we will be doing everything possible to support partners to keep roads open during the winter.
The war further complicates this picture, because even in the zones that are not cut off by winter snows, accessibility for aid workers is severely limited by insecurity. Taliban soldiers and other militias have looted aid offices in Kandahar, Mazar-e-Sharif, Ghana, Kunduz and other areas. Insecurity in Kandahar and Herat is due to a break down of law and order; in Ghor and Badghis it is due to increased fighting between the Taliban and Northern Alliance. Continued bombing in most parts of north and central Afghanistan, and the use of cluster bombs, have created a climate of fear that severely limits the ability of WFP and other agencies to continue food deliveries. Islamic NGOs that are currently delivering food into the east believe that they could do much more if fear by truckers could be diminished.
Food has now run out for many Afghan people
For over four weeks Oxfam International has been increasingly concerned about the deteriorating humanitarian situation in Afghanistan. We have been calling on all parties for a pause in military action and for the WFP (World Food Programme) to urgently step up the trucking of food into Afghanistan before winter sets in. We now fear that time is running out for some communities. For others, time will run out if food deliveries do not dramatically increase in the next weeks and months.
This failure by the international community to deliver enough food, combined with growing insecurity, has left hundreds of thousands of people suffering acute food shortages. In some areas of acute need, the bombing and the increased fighting from the Taliban and Northern Alliance has added to a climate of fear that has made many truck drivers and aid workers too frightened to work.
Given the significant differences across Afghanistan, both in terms of need and access, any options must be specifically designed to meet the conditions on the ground. This may require a range of actors negotiating access to different areas of the country, and different approaches according to local conditions. They must reach all Afghans in need including those who may become trapped in their villages by the coming snows and spreading violence. This will require a flexible approach that draws from the local knowledge of Afghan organisations and international agencies operating on the ground.
Oxfam is therefore calling for:
The trucking of food to be dramatically increased to areas where access is still possible (including most of the central provinces of Bamyan, Uruzgan and Wardak). There are still thousands of people that can and must be reached by a significantly increased delivery of food into Afghanistan by land, and by air drops and lifts into secure zones. Greater diplomatic pressure is required to ensure that neighbouring countries are facilitating trucking into Afghanistan by easing bureaucracy at borders. This is a priority option for zones considered accessible and will require increased efforts by WFP to move higher quantities of food into the country.
The UN, the ICRC, and the coalition governments to consider more radical options for some regions (including parts of Faryab, Ghor, Balkh and Badghis) where food is already running out. This could include the negotiation of safe routes and safe zones for food delivery, and air drops. We know that some of these options are not the most effective way to get food to people, and that trucking would have been better. But given the level of the crisis in some areas, all options must now be considered. It should not be forgotten that the Geneva Conventions clearly establish the obligation of all warring parties to ensure that food and medical supplies reach civilians.
A pause in all military action, including air strikes, at least in some zones so that food stores within the country can be replenished. The specific areas and timing should be negotiated and co-ordinated by the United Nations. We believe that this would remove an important fear that is preventing truck drivers from working in some areas of acute need.
The food situation
New food aid is moving into some parts of Afghanistan. But seven provinces in the north, north-west and centre of Afghanistan include areas of acute concern. Reports of deteriorating security, and the rapid onset of winter in mountainous areas come on top of the existing need for substantial food aid. Oxfam draws this conclusion from WFP estimates in July predicting that food would run out within 3-6 months in these selected areas. While there is no reliable information about population movements since September, there are also no reports of significant numbers of refugees from these provinces. This suggests that the majority of people are still in their homes and may have even been joined by people fleeing the cities.
At the start of November, some new food (albeit limited amounts) is entering the country, and winter is closing in. WFP’s earlier projections suggest that parts of Afghanistan are on the threshold of a far deeper crisis. It is now likely that:
In the north and north-west, in parts of the four provinces of Badghis, Faryab, Ghor, and Balkh, 400,000 people are already suffering acute food shortages. At least 1,300,000 will probably have little or no food by the end of December. At least 700,000 of these live in Faryab.
Around 350,000 people in Badghis, Ghor, and Faryab are located in areas soon to be largely cut off by the onset of snows during November. After that, aid will only be able to get through with extraordinary measures to keep overland routes open or supply by air.
In the north-east, in parts of Badakhshan, around 260,000 people will be largely cut off by the onset of winter this month, and will have little or no food by the end of December. They too will need especial efforts to get aid to them.
In the central provinces of Bamyan, Uruzgan and Wardak, 13 of the 25 districts may be largely cut off during winter because of their high terrain, affecting over 540,000 people.
Oxfam and its partner organisations continue to deliver assistance in some of these areas, where security allows. Our current aid is mostly food purchased locally through Oxfam grants, and distributing food supplied by WFP in the central highlands and north-east. In Ghor, Badghis and the mountainous parts of Herat and Farah, we will be doing everything possible to support partners to keep roads open during the winter.
The war further complicates this picture, because even in the zones that are not cut off by winter snows, accessibility for aid workers is severely limited by insecurity. Taliban soldiers and other militias have looted aid offices in Kandahar, Mazar-e-Sharif, Ghana, Kunduz and other areas. Insecurity in Kandahar and Herat is due to a break down of law and order; in Ghor and Badghis it is due to increased fighting between the Taliban and Northern Alliance. Continued bombing in most parts of north and central Afghanistan, and the use of cluster bombs, have created a climate of fear that severely limits the ability of WFP and other agencies to continue food deliveries. Islamic NGOs that are currently delivering food into the east believe that they could do much more if fear by truckers could be diminished.
1/11/01 - Oxfam International briefing paper
Food has now run out for many Afghan people
For over four weeks Oxfam International has been increasingly concerned about the deteriorating humanitarian situation in Afghanistan. We have been calling on all parties for a pause in military action and for the WFP (World Food Programme) to urgently step up the trucking of food into Afghanistan before winter sets in. We now fear that time is running out for some communities. For others, time will run out if food deliveries do not dramatically increase in the next weeks and months.
This failure by the international community to deliver enough food, combined with growing insecurity, has left hundreds of thousands of people suffering acute food shortages. In some areas of acute need, the bombing and the increased fighting from the Taliban and Northern Alliance has added to a climate of fear that has made many truck drivers and aid workers too frightened to work.
Given the significant differences across Afghanistan, both in terms of need and access, any options must be specifically designed to meet the conditions on the ground. This may require a range of actors negotiating access to different areas of the country, and different approaches according to local conditions. They must reach all Afghans in need including those who may become trapped in their villages by the coming snows and spreading violence. This will require a flexible approach that draws from the local knowledge of Afghan organisations and international agencies operating on the ground.
Oxfam is therefore calling for:
The trucking of food to be dramatically increased to areas where access is still possible (including most of the central provinces of Bamyan, Uruzgan and Wardak). There are still thousands of people that can and must be reached by a significantly increased delivery of food into Afghanistan by land, and by air drops and lifts into secure zones. Greater diplomatic pressure is required to ensure that neighbouring countries are facilitating trucking into Afghanistan by easing bureaucracy at borders. This is a priority option for zones considered accessible and will require increased efforts by WFP to move higher quantities of food into the country.
The UN, the ICRC, and the coalition governments to consider more radical options for some regions (including parts of Faryab, Ghor, Balkh and Badghis) where food is already running out. This could include the negotiation of safe routes and safe zones for food delivery, and air drops. We know that some of these options are not the most effective way to get food to people, and that trucking would have been better. But given the level of the crisis in some areas, all options must now be considered. It should not be forgotten that the Geneva Conventions clearly establish the obligation of all warring parties to ensure that food and medical supplies reach civilians.
A pause in all military action, including air strikes, at least in some zones so that food stores within the country can be replenished. The specific areas and timing should be negotiated and co-ordinated by the United Nations. We believe that this would remove an important fear that is preventing truck drivers from working in some areas of acute need.
The food situation
New food aid is moving into some parts of Afghanistan. But seven provinces in the north, north-west and centre of Afghanistan include areas of acute concern. Reports of deteriorating security, and the rapid onset of winter in mountainous areas come on top of the existing need for substantial food aid. Oxfam draws this conclusion from WFP estimates in July predicting that food would run out within 3-6 months in these selected areas. While there is no reliable information about population movements since September, there are also no reports of significant numbers of refugees from these provinces. This suggests that the majority of people are still in their homes and may have even been joined by people fleeing the cities.
At the start of November, some new food (albeit limited amounts) is entering the country, and winter is closing in. WFP’s earlier projections suggest that parts of Afghanistan are on the threshold of a far deeper crisis. It is now likely that:
In the north and north-west, in parts of the four provinces of Badghis, Faryab, Ghor, and Balkh, 400,000 people are already suffering acute food shortages. At least 1,300,000 will probably have little or no food by the end of December. At least 700,000 of these live in Faryab.
Around 350,000 people in Badghis, Ghor, and Faryab are located in areas soon to be largely cut off by the onset of snows during November. After that, aid will only be able to get through with extraordinary measures to keep overland routes open or supply by air.
In the north-east, in parts of Badakhshan, around 260,000 people will be largely cut off by the onset of winter this month, and will have little or no food by the end of December. They too will need especial efforts to get aid to them.
In the central provinces of Bamyan, Uruzgan and Wardak, 13 of the 25 districts may be largely cut off during winter because of their high terrain, affecting over 540,000 people.
Oxfam and its partner organisations continue to deliver assistance in some of these areas, where security allows. Our current aid is mostly food purchased locally through Oxfam grants, and distributing food supplied by WFP in the central highlands and north-east. In Ghor, Badghis and the mountainous parts of Herat and Farah, we will be doing everything possible to support partners to keep roads open during the winter.
The war further complicates this picture, because even in the zones that are not cut off by winter snows, accessibility for aid workers is severely limited by insecurity. Taliban soldiers and other militias have looted aid offices in Kandahar, Mazar-e-Sharif, Ghana, Kunduz and other areas. Insecurity in Kandahar and Herat is due to a break down of law and order; in Ghor and Badghis it is due to increased fighting between the Taliban and Northern Alliance. Continued bombing in most parts of north and central Afghanistan, and the use of cluster bombs, have created a climate of fear that severely limits the ability of WFP and other agencies to continue food deliveries. Islamic NGOs that are currently delivering food into the east believe that they could do much more if fear by truckers could be diminished.
1/11/01 - Oxfam International briefing paper
Food has now run out for many Afghan people
For over four weeks Oxfam International has been increasingly concerned about the deteriorating humanitarian situation in Afghanistan. We have been calling on all parties for a pause in military action and for the WFP (World Food Programme) to urgently step up the trucking of food into Afghanistan before winter sets in. We now fear that time is running out for some communities. For others, time will run out if food deliveries do not dramatically increase in the next weeks and months.
This failure by the international community to deliver enough food, combined with growing insecurity, has left hundreds of thousands of people suffering acute food shortages. In some areas of acute need, the bombing and the increased fighting from the Taliban and Northern Alliance has added to a climate of fear that has made many truck drivers and aid workers too frightened to work.
Given the significant differences across Afghanistan, both in terms of need and access, any options must be specifically designed to meet the conditions on the ground. This may require a range of actors negotiating access to different areas of the country, and different approaches according to local conditions. They must reach all Afghans in need including those who may become trapped in their villages by the coming snows and spreading violence. This will require a flexible approach that draws from the local knowledge of Afghan organisations and international agencies operating on the ground.
Oxfam is therefore calling for:
The trucking of food to be dramatically increased to areas where access is still possible (including most of the central provinces of Bamyan, Uruzgan and Wardak). There are still thousands of people that can and must be reached by a significantly increased delivery of food into Afghanistan by land, and by air drops and lifts into secure zones. Greater diplomatic pressure is required to ensure that neighbouring countries are facilitating trucking into Afghanistan by easing bureaucracy at borders. This is a priority option for zones considered accessible and will require increased efforts by WFP to move higher quantities of food into the country.
The UN, the ICRC, and the coalition governments to consider more radical options for some regions (including parts of Faryab, Ghor, Balkh and Badghis) where food is already running out. This could include the negotiation of safe routes and safe zones for food delivery, and air drops. We know that some of these options are not the most effective way to get food to people, and that trucking would have been better. But given the level of the crisis in some areas, all options must now be considered. It should not be forgotten that the Geneva Conventions clearly establish the obligation of all warring parties to ensure that food and medical supplies reach civilians.
A pause in all military action, including air strikes, at least in some zones so that food stores within the country can be replenished. The specific areas and timing should be negotiated and co-ordinated by the United Nations. We believe that this would remove an important fear that is preventing truck drivers from working in some areas of acute need.
The food situation
New food aid is moving into some parts of Afghanistan. But seven provinces in the north, north-west and centre of Afghanistan include areas of acute concern. Reports of deteriorating security, and the rapid onset of winter in mountainous areas come on top of the existing need for substantial food aid. Oxfam draws this conclusion from WFP estimates in July predicting that food would run out within 3-6 months in these selected areas. While there is no reliable information about population movements since September, there are also no reports of significant numbers of refugees from these provinces. This suggests that the majority of people are still in their homes and may have even been joined by people fleeing the cities.
At the start of November, some new food (albeit limited amounts) is entering the country, and winter is closing in. WFP’s earlier projections suggest that parts of Afghanistan are on the threshold of a far deeper crisis. It is now likely that:
In the north and north-west, in parts of the four provinces of Badghis, Faryab, Ghor, and Balkh, 400,000 people are already suffering acute food shortages. At least 1,300,000 will probably have little or no food by the end of December. At least 700,000 of these live in Faryab.
Around 350,000 people in Badghis, Ghor, and Faryab are located in areas soon to be largely cut off by the onset of snows during November. After that, aid will only be able to get through with extraordinary measures to keep overland routes open or supply by air.
In the north-east, in parts of Badakhshan, around 260,000 people will be largely cut off by the onset of winter this month, and will have little or no food by the end of December. They too will need especial efforts to get aid to them.
In the central provinces of Bamyan, Uruzgan and Wardak, 13 of the 25 districts may be largely cut off during winter because of their high terrain, affecting over 540,000 people.
Oxfam and its partner organisations continue to deliver assistance in some of these areas, where security allows. Our current aid is mostly food purchased locally through Oxfam grants, and distributing food supplied by WFP in the central highlands and north-east. In Ghor, Badghis and the mountainous parts of Herat and Farah, we will be doing everything possible to support partners to keep roads open during the winter.
The war further complicates this picture, because even in the zones that are not cut off by winter snows, accessibility for aid workers is severely limited by insecurity. Taliban soldiers and other militias have looted aid offices in Kandahar, Mazar-e-Sharif, Ghana, Kunduz and other areas. Insecurity in Kandahar and Herat is due to a break down of law and order; in Ghor and Badghis it is due to increased fighting between the Taliban and Northern Alliance. Continued bombing in most parts of north and central Afghanistan, and the use of cluster bombs, have created a climate of fear that severely limits the ability of WFP and other agencies to continue food deliveries. Islamic NGOs that are currently delivering food into the east believe that they could do much more if fear by truckers could be diminished.
Oxfam: forwarded by reader (not Oxfam)
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