By Alina Haddad
20 July 2008 [MEDIAGLOBAL]: Currently in Afghanistan, 300,000 farming families have watched their crops and livestock diminish or die because of drought and poor harvest, minimizing their income at a time where food prices are higher than ever. Because of a limited harvest and the high market price of food, 450,000 urban and rural Afghan households cannot afford enough food to feed their families. Consequently, an estimated 550,000 women and children under five are at serious risk of malnutrition.
Afghanistan was among the first countries in the world to feel the impact of the dramatic rise in global food prices in 2007. It was hoped that prices would return to their normal levels in 2008, but this did not happen. Instead, wheat production in Afghanistan decreased 36 percent from 2007 to 2008, and neighboring countries closed their borders, restricting exports.
Afghanistan once produced over 90 percent of its own food, but this year the forecast is grim: it will produce only two-thirds of its domestic requirements, according to the Agriculture Prospects Survey conducted in April. About two million ton of grain will have to be imported to feed its population.
At the end of 2007, the Afghan government and the United Nations collaborated to develop strategies to alleviate the negative impact of high priced staples on vulnerable populations in Afghanistan. Together they created the Afghanistan Joint Appeal for the Humanitarian Consequences of the Rise in Food Prices in January of 2008, providing temporary food security for 2.6 million Afghans in the first half of 2008.
Closing the first half of 2008 and still burdened by sky-rocketing food prices, the Afghan government and U.N. launched the Food Appeal for Vulnerable Afghans which intends to feed 4.5 million people in desperate need of food aid. The appeal will run for 12 months, from July 2008 through July 2009.
Nilab Mobarez of the U.N. Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) Spokesperson’s Office told MediaGlobal, “The immediate aim of the appeal is to address the humanitarian situation related to food insecurity which is severely exacerbated by the food price increases, drought, and other factors that increase vulnerability. The appeal also aims to avoid a prolonged relief situation by supporting the agriculture sector through the next planting and harvest cycle. This appeal, therefore, seeks to provide a temporary safety net to the most vulnerable poor people in urban and rural areas by reducing and preventing food insecurity through General Food Distribution, Food for Work (FFW), and Cast for Work (CFW) programs that also construct or rehabilitate productive community-level infrastructure.”
The appeal calls for $404,319,728 to ensure not only food security, but also nutrition, water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH), health, protection, and agricultural needs are met. The money has been divided according to need: 50.22 percent to food security, 43.7 percent to agriculture, 2.86 percent to WASH, 2 percent to health, and 1.09 percent to protection.
Mobarez explained the intent of the appeal’s attention to water and agricultural services, “In order to alleviate the knock-on effects of food insecurity, this appeal aims to reduce morbidity and mortality from waterborne diseases and malnutrition caused by food insecurity, provide safe drinking water and hygiene promotion in drought-affected communities, and improve disease surveillance in drought-affected areas. The objective of the agriculture program is to prevent critical drops in food security and the income of farming families, which are both reliant on livestock production and crops, and to support the next agricultural cycle so that productivity has the potential to recover.”
By providing essential services as proposed by the appeal, displacement of the most vulnerable Afghanis will be avoided. “There are heightened protection concerns in terms of household stress. If the drought forces people to become displaced temporarily or even to migrate permanently from their homes, this disrupts traditional structures and protection arrangements. The displacement and protection situation will be monitored through a protection program that provides information and counseling,” said Mobarez.
Bo Asplund, U.N. Humanitarian Coordinator and Deputy Special Representative of the Security-General, expressed the significance and necessity of enacting the Food Appeal for vulnerable Afghans, “There is an urgent need to provide life-saving assistance to Afghanistan’s people, the needs are great and the time is limited. With the support of the international community, we can prevent millions of Afghans being pushed into food insecurity, avoid displacement of families and protect them against malnutrition. We urge donors to step forward with commitments of support that will enable us to provide essential food, water and health services to vulnerable groups over the next twelve months.”