The approaching winter will likely worsen the humanitarian situation in Afghanistan, CARE
officials warn, as dangerous conditions hamstring efforts to combat drought-driven food shortages. "Attacks against U.N. staff and international aid workers have jumped
sharply this year," says Lex Kassenberg, country director for CARE in Afghanistan. From January to September alone, 29 NGO workers were killed and 78 kidnapped. "Access to communities
continues to be seriously hampered by widespread insecurity. More and more it’s getting increasingly difficult to reach communities with the supplies they need."Today roughly 8.4 million
people, or a fourth of the Afghan population, are considered food insecure. According to aid workers on the ground there, drought, insecurity and rising food prices in northern Afghanistan may drive
hundreds of thousands of people from their homes this winter.In response, CARE has launched cash-for-work projects in the northern province of Balkh, providing income opportunities for an
initial 2,400 families. CARE also will begin supplying seed, fertiliser and other agricultural materials to help farmers rebuild livelihoods lost. CARE's ongoing work in Afghanistan includes programs
to educate girls in rural areas and make widows self-sufficient in Kabul.Adds Kassenberg: "CARE applauds the U.N.'s decision to establish an independent office for coordinating
humanitarian affairs in Afghanistan but calls on donors to make sure it receives adequate funding." Fighting along the Pakistani border has already complicated the situation, sending around
20,000 refugees into the country from Pakistan. In July 2008, the Afghan government and the United Nations jointly appealed for $400 million in emergency aid. But, according to the Ministry of
Rural Development, donors had funded only 35 percent by mid-September. "We are entering a critical time of year," Kassenberg said. "Greater assistance depends on greater
security. Without both, more Afghans are going to suffer."About CARE: CARE fights root causes of poverty in the world's poorest communities. We place special focus on working alongside
poor women because, equipped with proper resources, women have the power to help whole families and entire communities escape poverty. Get involved at www.care.org.Media Contacts: Atlanta: Brian Feagans, CARE, at
and 404-979-9453 or Lurma Rackley, CARE, at
and 404-979-9450 Geneva: Melanie Brooks, CARE International, ,
+41.22.795.1024 London: Amber Meikle, CARE International, ,
020 7934 9348
[ Any views expressed in this article are those of the writer and not of Reuters. ]
An Afghan policeman carries away a damaged bicycle after a suicide blast in Nangarhar province November 13, 2008. Twenty Afghan civilians and a U.S. soldier were killed in a suicide attack ...
