KABUL (SW): Abdullah Abdullah, Chief Executive Officer, said on Wednesday that three and half million people in Afghanistan need humanitarian aid and the government needs $ 393 million to meet their needs.
Speaking at an event “Launch of the 2016 Humanitarian Response Plan for Afghanistan”, he said that based on the plan prepared, $ 53 million would be allocated to arrange urgent shelters, $ 110 million for agriculture, $ 39.6 million for health, $ 63.2 million for nutrition, $ 42 million for food security, $ 20.5 million for drinkable water and $ 36.8 million for other sectors.
He said that last year the international community and donor countries allocated $ 424 million to Afghanistan, which proved their commitment to Afghanistan. THE CEO further said that last year’s aid money was also distributed among the earthquake and flood affected families and repatriates.
Mark Bawdon, the Coordinator for Humanitarian Aid at the United Nations in Afghanistan, said that last year up to 30,000 people in Afghanistan were forced to leave their homes due to drought, natural disasters and growing insecurity. He added that 1 million children in Afghanistan suffer from food insecurity out of which 40 percent have received humanitarian assistances.
Marcos Potsel, German Ambassador to Afghanistan, who was also present at the event, said that Germany was ready to help Afghanistan in development and other assistances. He said that Germany in 2015, has assisted $ 17 million for one million Afghans who have been affected by natural disaster.
Afghan government officials said that nearly 3.1 million people were affected due to natural disaster last year. They said that Afghanistan is one of the five countries where the citizens are most vulnerable to natural disaster.
Amanullah Jawad, Deputy Minister at Ministry of Rural Rehabilitation and Development (MRRD), said on the occasion that humanitarian aid should be channeled through local offices since they are well aware of the conditions people live through.
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