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*** AFGHANISTAN: Emergency programs continue as the overall situation worsens (29 October 2001) TAJIKISTAN: Starvation threatens thousands (4 October 2001) AFGHANISTAN: Thousands face death in Northern Afghanistan (28 September 2001) AFGHANISTAN: Action Against Hunger continues its emergency relief efforts (14 September 2001) *** Groove Against Hunger is a multi-city series of benefit concerts. Partipicating bands include the Allman Brothers, Soulive, the Squad, and The Slip. The Groove movement unites artists and audiences to help us fight hunger. Upcoming Groove concert: Robert Randolph at the Bowery Ballroom, NYC (Nov. 2nd and 3rd, 8 pm) Enter the groove *** "The Geopolitics of Hunger" explores the ways hunger is used as a weapon in today's conflicts and Action Against Hunger's response. *** Urgent Positions Available
Medical Doctors in DR Congo Nurses in DR Congo and South Sudan *** Want more news? Download our July 2001 Newsletter WORLD HUNGER WATCH (pdf file) *** Letter from the field: The Cowboys of South Sudan |
A
note on the September 11 attacks Letter from the Field: The Faces Beneath the Borqua My souvenirs of Afghanistan in 2 words? Their smiles and their look. Their look as profound, as their suffering which has afflicted them for 20 years. The brightness in their eyes reflects the tenacious hope that allows them to keep living. Their smile represents their love of life, and also the façade of happiness, masking their destroyed lives, masking the effects of years of hardship they have endured.
*** CRISIS
IN AFGHANISTAN The people of Afghanistan have lived through over 20 years of brutal civil war and three years of a devastating drought. With the on-going air strikes, millions of civilians are in danger of being totally cut-off from food, medical supplies, and clean drinking water. Winter is approaching fast and will aggravate not only the fate of the population but also the difficulties to deliver a much-needed vital assistance. We must act now to demonstrate that humanity and compassion are not suspended in times of war. What Action Against Hunger is Already Doing Today: In 1979, Action Against Hunger began assisting Afghan refugees in Pakistan who had fled from the Soviet occupation and the devastating civil war that followed. Since 1995, Action Against Hunger is directly implementing programs inside Afghanistan: we treat thousands of children in nutritional centers, organize primary health care, provide mother and child health care for women deprived of access to basic social services, and strengthened food security in remote regions. Update on Afghanistan programs Just before the forced evacuation of international relief workers from Afghanistan, we completed a comprehensive food security assessment, which confirmed that a major food crisis was ongoing, possibly leading to a large-scale famine. In the northern region of Mazar-I-Sharif, hundreds of thousands of people were already in need of immediate life-saving assistance. Today, our staff of 500 Afghan nationals, including over 300 women, continues to do whatever possible to deliver food and relief supplies to populations in areas either controlled by the Taliban or by the Northern Alliance. During the first week of the air strikes, we managed to send 8 tons of highly nutritional products to the Pansheer Valley from Tajikistan. This week, we succeeded in getting 2 truckloads of medical supplies from Pakistan to Kabul, where our staff is trying to send them to Pansheer and Hazaradjat. But their efforts are in danger of being overwhelmed by the increasing needs and hampered by dwindling supply lines. A bomb just fell close to our warehouses and Kabul has been without electricity for three days. Immediate and Substantial Action Needed: 1. To save the growing numbers of hunger victims, there is no substitute for nutritional centers and food distributions, directly organized by a coalition of the UN Agencies, ICRC, and independent NGOs. (See Joint NGO Declaration on Afghanistan)Adequate food assistance must go to those who most need it under close monitoring and direct supervision. More *** STARVATION IN TAJIKISTAN Even with the world's eyes focused on Central Asia, many don't know that an estimated one million people in Tajikistan are threatened with starvation. For a second consecutive year, a severe drought has drastically affected Tajikistan, further aggravating the already extremely precarious situation of the 6 million inhabitants. The last 10 years have already been catastrophic for the population, who has survived a terrible civil war and years of deprivation. In order to react to the immediate crisis situation, Action Against Hunger has just opened a 4th therapeutic feeding centre. The organization is also carrying out seed distributions to ensure that the autumn planting season is not missed. More See BBC's article on Tajikistan |
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