ACT SitRep

Afghanistan Situation Report

No. 1/2004

Geneva, May 27, 2004

Information provided by Hungarian Interchurch Aid (HIA) and Norwegian Church Aid (NCA)

Political and security situation

The present political and security situation in Afghanistan is basically determined by the approaching elections, the country's first democratic elections ever, which are to be held in September 2004. Preparations for the elections dominate the movements of all major political parties (Jamiat, Jumbish, various Islamic parties, Harakat, Wahdat, Nijat, Nazar and Ittihad) and influence the behaviour of provincial commanders. The government and the U.N. are doing all they can to ensure that the elections will be carried out successfully and safely, but the opposition of local political forces and various warlords and commanders has led to minor clashes in some cases. With the approach of the election date, there is no guarantee as to whether the situation, which at present can be regarded as calm, will not deteriorate into major fighting. Local clashes between opposing political forces could escalate at any time.

Some violence occurred in April, including a terrorist attack in Kandahar in which two workers of a local Afghan NGO died, and a bomb attack in the northeastern part of the country, in Kunduz, that was carried out against the regional centre of the UNHCR; nobody was injured.

The security situation in Mazar-i-Sharif and its surroundings is good. Over the past few weeks, apart from a couple of sporadic shootings and a terrorist attack against city police, in which three policemen were killed, there have been no major events that have significantly affected local security.

Economic situation

The country's economic and commercial situation is improving day by day. Several large-scale construction works are being carried out in the capital city, while a large number of private dwellings and smaller buildings are being built almost everywhere in the country. A good example to illustrate the upswing in the economy is the fact that, over the past six months, in Mazar-i-Sharif alone, five Internet cafés have been opened and several near-European-standard enterprises have started operations. There is enough food available in the country, but the poverty of the general population and the huge unemployment rates, especially in rural areas, pose serious problems. Therefore, it is necessary to replace food-distribution programs with cash-for-work-type projects that would provide continuous employment. Such programs have already been started by several international NGOs.

International commitments in terms of funds are continuing to flow into the country. However, because of a deteriorating security situation in some parts of the country, limited amounts of funds have been released for rehabilitation and development in rural areas, resulting in a continuous need for emergency assistance.

The activities of the international organisations operating in the country are, in most cases, carried out within the context of long-term assistance. Traditional emergency tasks are being pushed to the background, and the focus is on construction, reconstruction and development instead. There are vast rehabilitation needs, especially in the areas of agriculture and irrigation. Before the wars, 80 percent of the population was employed in the agricultural sector. The need for labor in agriculture is less now than it used to be. Agricultural land is still out of production due to lack of maintenance of the land and irrigation systems. There is also a tremendous need for education, especially because of the Taliban’s denial of women’s rights to education. There is still a huge need for basic literacy training and vocational training for both women and men, both in rural and urban areas.

Levels of malnourishment among infants and young children are still very high. Surveys show that the majority of children are suffering from chronic undernourishment, and high numbers are acutely malnourished.

Hungarian Interchurch Aid activities

The start of its program was slightly delayed due to funding problems. The first donations started coming in January 2004, but the amounts were arriving in an ad hoc manner, which made it difficult to plan ahead. Nevertheless, the preparation of the program took place in March, and implementation commenced in April.

HIA has started the construction of a health centre at Shahrak settlement (Balkh Province), northeast of Mazar-i-Sharif, that will have six rooms and two modern toilets. At the settlement of Samarkandyan, southeast of Mazar-i-Sharif, construction has also begun on a school. It will have eight classrooms, one office and four toilets, and 240 student chairs and desks and blackboards will be provided. The school is located to guarantee that girls from nearby villages have easy access to it. According to its plan, HIA will hand over both establishments in September 2004.

Coordination

HIA expatriate staff visited NGOs, authorities, and ministries present in Mazar to share information on program implementation, necessary permissions, etc. While in Kabul in April, HIA staff met with ACT member Norwegian Church Aid. During the discussions, experiences regarding program implementation were exchanged as well as information on new program possibilities.

Norwegian Church Aid (NCA) activities

NCA is working with nine local NGOs in ASAF-31.

During the winter months, NCA continued to operate its supplementary feeding centers. Toward the end of 2003, the Ministry of Health established new guidelines to combat malnourishment, and it no longer approves of new supplementary feeding centers. Therefore, NCA will phase out its program in this area. Based on the new guidelines, NCA will also no longer be able to distribute the types of rations used at the feeding centers.

NCA’s quilt-production projects in Malistan and Butkak are almost complete, while the project in Paghman has recently started. In these projects, women are employed to produce quilts as an income-earning activity to be distributed to low-income families. Some of the quilts produced in Butkhak have been distributed to recently returned refugee families, while the rest have been brought to NCA’s store in Kabul.

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