ANDMA inks $722,000 trilateral agreement with 2 NGOs

KABUL (Pajhwok): The Afghanistan National Disaster Management Authority (ANDMA) has inked a trilateral agreement with Solidarités International (SI) and Handicap International (HI) worth 722,000 US dollars.

In a statement, ANDMA said its Director General Mullah Nooruddin Turabi met Maqbool Hussain, Deputy Head of Operations at SI and Acting Head of HI Shinke Fernbando, along with their delegations.

As per the agreement, SI will plant 3,000 climate-resilient saplings in the Yakawlang district of central Bamyan province, distribute 840 kilogrammes of forest fodder to eligible beneficiaries in six villages and provide 250 families with one kilogramme each of assorted vegetable seeds. Preventive projects aimed at reducing natural disaster risks will also be implemented, community resilience strengthened and vulnerable areas assessed.

Meanwhile, HI will assess persons with disabilities in the same district, provide public awareness on disaster risks, distribute appropriate assistive devices, cover transportation costs related to programme implementation, offer counselling to families of persons with disabilities and share information on natural hazards.

Turabi said the projects should be implemented swiftly and with full transparency, adding partner organisations must respond without delay and in coordination with ANDMA in the event of disasters to ensure timely assistance to affected people.

The statement added representatives of the organisations also presented details of planned projects and assured ANDMA leadership the initiatives would be implemented transparently and efficiently.

hz/kk