Country remains key humanitarian corridor to Afghanistan

Millions of Afghans facing starvation, hunger and disease at the height of the US-led coalition war on Al-Qaeda and Taliban last winter were assisted after Afghanistan’s northern neighbour Uzbekistan opened up its border. This allowed aid agencies to use the country as a critical humanitarian gateway to northern Afghanistan. Piet Vochten, an official of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) in the Uzbek capital, Tashkent told IRIN that heavy winter snowfall in the Hindu Kush mountains obstructs movement to northern Afghanistan making supply routes through Central Asia vital. "The Central Asian republics have had a prominent role in the provision of humanitarian assistance to Afghanistan after 11 September," he said. Although Uzbekistan’s own contribution to the ongoing aid effort in Afghanistan remains limited, the country opened the Friendship Bridge on the Amudarya river separating the two countries and has also allowed barges to operate between the well-developed river ports on both sides since November last year - four years after the facilities were closed in 1997. Located in southern Uzbekistan, Termez offers the best access to the northern Afghan city of Mazar-e Sharif with the two being only 90 minutes drive away from each other. Mazar-e Sharif in turn is regarded as the key distribution point for supplying northern Afghanistan and even the remote central highlands. Alternative supply routes through Turkmenistan, Iran or Pakistan may take up to 10 days during winter to reach Mazar-e Sharif. Vochten estimated that some 75,000 mt of food aid and significant quantities of non-food items totalling 15,000 mt including clothing, medical equipment and vaccines had been transported from Uzbekistan into Afghanistan over the past year. While Uzbekistan shares only a 137 km long border with Afghanistan, the Friendship Bridge built by the Soviets in the 1980s and the relatively well-equipped river transport system by barges remain a key link. Termez was the main supply route for the Red army during the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in the 1980’s. A large airport in Termez was also used for delivering huge humanitarian cargos recently. Besides the United Nations, Tashkent has also allowed some 39 NGOs and international organisations to access Afghanistan under a two-year memorandum of understanding signed with the UN in December last year. "The government of Uzbekistan encouraged us to help the Afghans directly by offering critical access," Jeff Liverman, head of the Uzbek NGO, Central Asia Free Exchange (CAFÉ), told IRIN. Liverman maintained that Uzbekistan has an advantage over other countries in terms of delivering assistance to northern Afghanistan. "The key is the railway system in Uzbekistan," he said. In comparison, there's just one km of railway track in Afghanistan and its across the Friendship Bridge in the Hairatan river port. CAFÉ is now assisting thousands of Afghans by distributing winter clothes, seeds, agricultural equipment and nutritional supplies - setting an example for other Central Asian NGOs who wish to embark on cross-border aid operations. Sharing a similar view is Robert Hedlund, head of the international NGO Joint Development Associates (JDA). "Termez is the best access point to northern Afghanistan," he told IRIN. JDA, as an implementing partner of the World Food Programme (WFP), has assisted 176,000 Afghans by distributing 4,000 mt of food aid. JDA also developed water resources by digging dozens of wells in the drought-stricken area. Hedlund said given the deteriorating security situation facing NGOs in Pakistan because of the growing threat to Westerners, coupled with difficulties surrounding their working environment in neighbouring Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan was a logical choice for them. But such capacity still remains under-utilised. After 11 September hundreds of NGOs wanted to access Mazar-e Sharif through Termez but many went to Pakistan and other localities to set up their base of operations after delays in the border opening. According to aid workers, this most populated and resource-rich Central Asian republic has much to offer Afghanistan in the coming years for its reconstruction. "There is a potential here in terms of goods and know-how that is there for the reconstruction, definitely," Vochten said. The country has already supplied electricity to some northern Afghan towns, which could be extended if resources became available. However, that potential through Uzbekistan and other Central Asian republics, has yet to be fully realised as politics dictate economic and sometimes humanitarian considerations in the region. "The engagement of Central Asia in the rehabilitation and reconstruction of Afghanistan - especially in northern Afghanistan - should be larger than it is now," Vochten added.