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UNDP appeals for $25 million to support earthquake recovery in Herat
In the wake of the three devastating earthquakes that struck Herat Province between October 7 and 15, 2023, the UN Development Programme (UNDP) on Tuesday issued an urgent appeal for $25 million to support key parts of the recovery plan.
The earthquakes, measuring 6.3 in magnitude, left a trail of destruction affecting 1.6 million people, with over 1,500 deaths, 11,000 injuries, and widespread damage to over 21000 homes and infrastructure – rendering conditions unbearable for communities already grappling with deep poverty and underdevelopment, UNDP said in a statement.
The survivors, mostly women and children, are mainly living in tents, exposed to the cold, and in need of water, health care, food, and proper shelter, the statement said.
The UNDP appeal is part of a larger Herat Earthquake Response Plan developed by the UN Humanitarian Country Team, which needs $93.6 million to assist 114,000 people who are most in need during the winter. UNDP, in collaboration with UN partners and NGOs, has already allocated $3.15 million from its own resources for immediate relief and recovery. However, this is not enough to meet the huge demand for recovery and rebuilding, UNDP said.
“The situation on the ground is desperate and winter is fast approaching. Our goal is to help these communities restore basic infrastructure, especially shelter, and return to normalcy as quickly as possible. We’ve repurposed some of our existing resources so we can start moving quickly, but these resources are just not enough,” Stephen Rodriques, UNDP Resident Representative in Afghanistan, said.
UNDP’s appeal for an additional US$25 million aims to provide transitional and permanent shelter (using owner-driven Community Housing approaches), rebuild basic infrastructure, provide renewable energy particularly for households, schools and health facilities; restore and manage water systems and resources, and create temporary (cash-for-work) and longer-term jobs and livelihood opportunities.
“Amidst many other ongoing crisis globally, Afghanistan finds itself relegated to the periphery of international attention. The country does need assistance. This disaster comes on top of many disasters. Afghanistan has been through four decades of conflict. These quakes hit communities already living in profound poverty, and three out of eight people across the country don’t have adequate access to food. Now we have another disaster of enormous magnitude,” said Rodriques.
He emphasized: “we are appealing to the international community not to lose sight of Afghanistan and the needs of its people, and particularly the people in Herat who have just suffered this devastation.”
The Ministry of Hajj and Religious Affairs says that the process of transferring Hajj pilgrims from Afghanistan to Saudi Arabia has started.
According to the ministry, about 230 Hajj pilgrims left on Wednesday, May 8, on the first flight to Medina.
The acting minister Noor Mohammad Saqib, said at a departure ceremony for the Afghan pilgrims that this year, in order to provide better services to Hajj pilgrims, the employees of the working committees have been sent to Saudi Arabia earlier than in previous years.
At the same time, Deputy Prime Minister for Administrative Affairs Abdul Salam Hanafi, said to the pilgrims during the ceremony: “Dear pilgrims, you are the representatives of the Afghan people in Saudi Arabia, so do this representation well.”
Hanafi added that with the efforts of the Ministry of Hajj and Religious Affairs, as in previous years, all Hajj activities this year have been prepared in an orderly manner.
Earlier, the acting minister announced that this year’s quota for Afghan pilgrims will be 30,000.
Ariana Afghan Airlines and Kam Air are the official carriers of pilgrims this year.
Officials from the Afghan Red Crescent Society (ARCS) in the southwest of the country say they treated 700 children with heart defects last year and plan to treat another 15,000 children this year.
Marking World Red Cross and Red Crescent Day under the theme this year of “Keeping Humanity Alive”, officials and residents in Kandahar and Balkh provinces appealed to international organizations to continue helping Afghans.
Balkh local officials said support from ARCS had been received in the health, food preparation and cash distribution sectors.
The Afghan Red Crescent Society helps needy families across the country and coordinates and distributes humanitarian aid for other organizations.
Marking this day, IEA’s Prime Minister Mullah Mohammad Hassan Akhund also called on the people to help needy families.
According to a statement, Akhund asked aid organizations to increase and speed up their assistance in various sectors including health, economic assistance, and reconstruction.
Mawlavi Abdul Kabir, the political deputy prime minister, said Wednesday in a meeting with a number of elders, scholars and youths of the Hazara ethnic group in Kabul that justice in light of Islamic Sharia is applied equally to everyone.
The deputy PM’s office said in a statement that Kabir stressed that discrimination and prejudice have no place in the Islamic system, but the main goal is to serve the people.
“There is no place for ethnic, sectarian and linguistic prejudices and hypocrisy in Afghanistan. All Afghans should work together for the construction, development and prosperity of Afghanistan,” the statement read.
At the gathering, elders and scholars of the Hazara community demanded resolutions regarding their legal cases and other problems and assured the IEA of comprehensive cooperation with the Islamic system, the statement added.
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