NRC concerned about war & drought-hit displaced people

KABUL (Pajhwok): The Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) has voiced its concern at the inability of war-displaced people, affected by the drought, to receive aid due to the ongoing conflict.

“We are concerned that the poorest of Afghan society, particularly those already displaced by conflict, will be worst affected,” the NRC country director said on Monday.

The displaced families, affected by the drought, were prevented from reaching markets and aid, said Christopher Nyamandi.

More than two million Afghans are expected to become severely food-insecure in the coming months and urgently need humanitarian assistance to survive, says the UN.

An NRC survey in January found 50 percent of displaced Afghans could not adequately feed their families, and were often skipping meals. This is an increase from one in three in 2012.

In Badghis, the most food-insecure province in the country, NRC is currently assisting Afghans fleeing from fighting in Qadis district to the provincial capital.

Over half of the displaced had no food stocks and the rest less than enough for a week. One in four had restricted their own eating so that small children could eat.

“Prices of basic staples of wheat flour and rice have begun to climb by about 20 per cent,” says a new assessment conducted over the last weeks by NRC.

“The humanitarian crisis is not only a consequence of the severe drought; it is also a sad result of man-made factors. An under-developed irrigation system and the weakening economy are hitting ordinary families hard.

“But it is the ongoing and worsening conflict that is compounding these factors and bearing such a heavy cost on civilians,” said Nyamandi.

He stressed the need for an increased level of humanitarian funding, asking the international community to sustain its support to ensure the needs of vulnerable Afghans continue to be met.

pr/mud

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