Up to 100 dead as cold weather grips the country

Officials in Kabul have called for better emergency preparedness following the death of up to 100 people from cold weather in isolated rural areas. More than 60 people are believed to have died of acute respiratory infections, mainly pneumonia and whooping cough in southern, eastern and northern provinces of Afghanistan. On Thursday, the Ministry of Public Health (MOPH) would only confirm 25 deaths. Several hundred people are thought to be stranded because of snow, ice and avalanches in northern areas of the country. "We are on the alert and have formed an emergency task force composed of government ministries and health aid agencies including the United Nations to try and save the lives of vulnerable Afghans," public health minister, Mohammad Amin Fatemi, told IRIN on Thursday in Kabul. Fatemi said it was an exceptionally severe winter and most roads to suburbs were closed after heavy snowfalls. Local reports from Kabul indicate that at least six people have died of cold in a refugee camp in the capital, where the temperature has dropped to minus 18 degrees some nights. In the southern province of Kandahar at least five people died, three of whom froze to death, following heavy snowfall in the south. Meanwhile, 28 children died following a measles and whooping cough outbreak in the southern Urozgan and Daykundi provinces in late January. Most of the preventable deaths were caused by a lack of access to vulnerable communities in winter. "There is no possibility of going by road, horse or on foot. Aid can only be airlifted," the health minister noted. He said the ministry of defence had provided two helicopters to reach the areas most at risk. "We have sent a health team to Badakhshan where unconfirmed reports indicate that 30 people and over 300 animals have died due to different diseases caused by cold weather," he noted. Fatemi added that cold weather and low immunisation rates in inaccessible areas are the main reasons for the outbreaks of disease. Officials in the southern province of Zabul told IRIN that 31 people were known to have died after several days of heavy snow. Ghulam Jelani, security commander of Zabul, said that 13 people died in Shemki, 11 in Shamozi and another seven in Sueree districts. "Some of these people died when their houses collapsed due to the weight of snow," he said. Jelani said all roads to the affected districts remained closed. "We have contacted the Coalition [US-led forces based in Kandahar] to help us with air transport so we can reach these areas."