Red Cross warns of starvation danger

The Red Cross warned on Monday of impending death by malnutrition and cold if humanitarian appeals for additional aid went unheeded. Tajikistan was in an “extremely serious” situation, Denis McClean of the International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies headquarters in Geneva told IRIN. “We are urgently appealing to donors not to allow Tajikistan to become the forgotten emergency,” he added. Tajikistan is one of the Central Asian countries most affected by the continuing drought, the worst to hit the region in a decade.

The Federation was not in a position to begin food distributions to drought victims before January, partly because it had received just 10 percent of funds needed and previously requested to assist some 250,000 drought-affected people in Tajikistan, McClean said. “The problem is a combination of logistical difficulties and the slow response of donors... One of the ironies of this situation is that is that is it quite likely that seeds for next year will arrive before food actually does. Undoubtedly, many people will sell the seeds to buy food, or eat the seeds themselves,” he added.