Hanafi calls on agencies and investors to support ARCS

Acting deputy prime minister for administrative affairs Abdulsalam Hanafi has called on all agencies, investors and traders to cooperate with the Afghanistan Red Crescent Society (ARCS) and help strengthen the relief organization.

Addressing a press conference in Kabul, marking national week of ARCS, Hanafi said that a large number of people in the country are in need of help and that this assistance should be provided through a single channel – the Red Crescent Society.

“There are many cases in Afghanistan that need to be supported, one of them is children who have a hole in the heart,” said Hanafi.

Afghan Red Crescent officials also said that aid given to them will be distributed in a transparent manner and they will act quickly in emergency situations.

“The aid will be distributed in a transparent way for those in need,” said Matiul Haq Khalis, Acting President of ARCS.

A number of international agencies’ representatives meanwhile have emphasized the need to support this organization and provide humanitarian services in Afghanistan.

“The Afghan Red Crescent Society continues to provide assistance to victims throughout Afghanistan, and we ask other organizations to cooperate with this organization,” said Eloi Fillion, Director of the International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent (IFRC).

Other aid organizations also pledged to continue supporting ARCS.

“We have been able to help 47,000 families. We have sent 15,000 food packages to the victims of the Herat earthquake and we are trying to increase the aid,” said a representative of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC).

Meanwhile, the officials of the General Directorate of Passports have also said that this department has contributed 136 million AFN to the Afghan Red Crescent over the past six months.