Aid agencies warn of rising starvation

"Winter is approaching fast, the roads will be cut off soon, and the amount of food inside Afghanistan is insufficient," Larry Thompson, the spokesman for Refugees International (RI) in Islamabad, the Pakistani capital, told IRIN on Thursday. The UN World Food Programme (WFP) and its partners have distributed less than half the food necessary to feed the millions of vulnerable people in Afghanistan, according to an RI statement released on Thursday. A lot more food was needed to avert a humanitarian disaster, it said. Other international aid agencies are also warning that death rates from starvation and disease could rise sharply as the result of the difficulties obstructing the delivery of food supplies to Afghanistan. The deteriorating conditions in the country have prompted six NGOs to call for a pause in the US-led air strikes as the only means of ensuring that enough food can be brought in safely. The RI statement went on to say that the serious security concerns arising since the 11 September attacks, the start of the US-led strikes and the withdrawal of international aid workers had seriously hampered humanitarian efforts to feed the more than five million Afghans in desperate need. Although aid agencies say programmes are continuing to be implemented by national staff, recent lootings of UN and NGO offices, and attacks on staff by "armed non-Afghans" are severely disrupting progress, further compounded by the Taliban-imposed communications blackout. Thompson warned of an increased outflow of refugees over Afghanistan's borders, which are closed at present. This, too, could create a humanitarian disaster, he said, noting that UNHCR had confirmed that over 8,000 Afghans had crossed into Quetta, southwestern Pakistan, over the last four days. NGOs working in Afghanistan have called for "public guarantees" from all parties that military forces will not target or impede aid convoys. "It is evident now that we cannot, in reasonable safety, get food to hungry Afghan people," said Barbara Stocking, director of Oxfam International, outlining a position also supported by Islamic Relief, Christian Aid, the Catholic Fund for Development, the Tear Fund and ActionAid. Thompson said the use of commercial truck drivers should be considered in order to boost deliveries. "We know that wheat trading is still continuing in Afghanistan," he said. NGOs report, however, that supplies are stuck at border crossing points leading to Afghanistan, due to a shortage of truck drivers. Following increased reports of civilian infrastructure being accidentally hit by coalition forces, including an ICRC compound on Tuesday, drivers are reluctant to enter some regions. "We have 1,000 mt of food stuck in Quetta," Dr Hany al Banna, the director of Islamic Relief, said. He said this quantity would suffice for 50,000 people, but drivers willing to take the 60 trucks needed to transport it into Afghanistan could not be found. In a joint statement, the aid agencies said a pause in the bombing now would give "the best hope of averting a humanitarian crisis on a large scale". The statement said some 400,000 Afghans were already thought to be subsisting on wild vegetation and essential livestock, that two million people had insufficient food to last the winter, and that of these 500,000 would be cut off by snow by mid-November. NGOs have also reported that the US military airdrops were being made at inappropriate places, and were not reaching those most in need. UN food stocks in Afghanistan are estimated to be down to a two-week supply of 9,000 mt, although WFP has announced it is stepping up deliveries. Speaking to reporters on Wednesday, the head of WFP, Catherine Bertini, said 16,000 mt was expected to be delivered in the next 10 days. WFP is currently sending in about 900 mt a day, and aims to reach a total of 52,000 mt per month. Bertini also referred to deteriorating security conditions. The Taliban recently took control of two UN warehouses - one in Kabul and the other in the southern province of Kandahar - thereby seizing more than half the WFP's stock in the country. This action had seriously obstructed relief efforts, she said. Meanwhile, a WFP spokesman in Islamabad confirmed to IRIN on Thursday that the UN had regained control of its warehouse in Kabul. An urgent priority is to deliver aid into Hazarajat, in the central highlands, where road access to about 100,000 families is expected to be cut by mid-November. Reports are already emerging of hunger-related deaths caused by a severe shortage in the isolated region. With Hazarajat's estimated population of 2.3 million, WFP has calculated that 30,000 mt of food aid needs to be delivered. Bertini confirmed that airdrops were being considered if deliveries by road failed to meet total requirements. Thompson said airdrops were not the best option, but should be considered if lives were to be saved. Meanwhile, the Security Council has urged member states to rapidly disburse contributions to the UN emergency humanitarian appeal for Afghanistan. "Actual disbursements are not coming in quickly enough," Eric Falt, the director of the UN Information Centre in Islamabad, told reporters at a news conference on Wednesday. UNHCR has said it has only received about US $12 million of the estimated $50 million needed to cater for refugees. Donor governments have formally pledged another $11 million, but the pledges had not been "translated into cash", Falt said. WFP had received less than half of its appeal for $257 million, while UNICEF's appeal for $36 million had also only been met by half so far, he said.