Food and Non-Food Assistance

After six years of regular food and non-food distribution in Kabul, the ICRC has shifted its priority to alternative forms of assistance through which the ICRC helps the population to be more self-reliant and less dependent on the direct external assistance. The termination of the regular distribution was decided based upon the facts that Kabul is no longer directly affected by the ongoing conflict and that the food availability in the city has visibly increased in the last few years.

The last regular distribution in Kabul was completed in April 2001. Nevertheless, the ICRC remains alert to respond to the acute emergency needs, implementing distributions of food and non-food items on ad hoc, short-term basis for those drought-affected population, IDPs, and civilians who are blockaded by fighting.

In February, with the help of the Afghan Red Crescent Society (ARCS), a total of 240 MT firewood was distributed to the IDPs in Maslagh camp, some 20 km from the Iranian border in the western province of Herat, where more than 6,000 newly displaced families were living in a dire situation.

Between February and March 2001, food ration was distributed to 14,000 persons isolated by the snow in the conflict affected Dar-i-Suf region, south of Mazar-i-Sharif. With the access roads to the valley heavily mined and covered by snow, the ICRC organised several convoys comprised of donkeys in order to reach the 250 villages where the affected population was scattered.

As the second round of assistance following the one in late last year, the ICRC distributed in March 2001 seeds of wheat, chickpea and vegetable to the drought-affected farmers in Ghor province, benefiting 60,000 persons. Half rations of food were also distributed in order to deter the beneficiaries from eating the provided seeds.

Furthermore, the ICRC provides assistance to a number of indigenous NGO's and Institutions, and together with the Afghan Red Crescent Society (ARCS), conducts a number of joint relief activities throughout the country.

Kitchen Garden Program in Kabul

Kitchen garden program is an income-generating project aimed of raising the nutritional supplementary capacity of the needy families in Kabul city. So far 8,505 households have been selected from Kabul's vulnerable inhabitants, benefited by receiving vegetable seeds and agricultural tools.Agricultural Rehabilitation Program

In Afghanistan, most regions are characterized by very aggressive windy and dry climatic conditions, in which irrigation is compulsory for obtaining a suitable agricultural production. A large network of underground channels (karezes) and of open-air canals have been developed, sometimes over many centuries, and regularly maintained by traditional users' organizations. These infrastructures have been neglected during the war or destroyed by bombs in some areas. Their rehabilitation, especially for collapsed karezes, is a huge task beyond the capacity of local communities. The ICRC supports the rehabilitation program with the aim of lessening dependency of the farmers on external assistance. The villages, districts and provinces where refugees and IDPs are returned or are expected to return are also selected as the project site according to the need and requirement for rehabilitation. The ICRC currently supports the following 5 central activities:

- rehabilitation of 800 irrigation systems per year. These projects employ thousands of Afghans in the reconstruction process on a Food For Work (FFW) basis, individual schemes comprising as many as 6'000 workers at once;
- large scale distribution of seeds and seedlings such as improved quality wheat, along with fertilizers, potatoes, corn, beans and a range of fruit and fuel trees and vegetables;
- large distribution of agro-tools complementary to the seeds distribution;
- plant protection projects provide essential pest control techniques for orchards and other crops;
- training programs are organised in the communities focused on various agricultural issues such as pest control, irrigation, weeding, crop rotation and farm management.

Today, 13 ICRC agronomists are working with over 200,000 direct beneficiaries in various areas of activity covering most of Afghanistan.
Water/Habitat Program

Established in August 1996, the ICRC Water Habitat program is addressing the dire condition of local water and sewage systems as well as refuse disposal facilities in Kabul, all intrinsically linked to the prevailing health risks of the population. In particular, the scourge of diarrhea which is considered the main cause of infant mortality, is targeted for eradication. This program is carried out both on the individual and community level - sponsoring private latrines for families (to date catering for approx. 300'000 individuals) and providing wells equipped with hand pumps and collective septic tanks for communities. An important factor in this program, apart from the crucial aspect of preventative health, is linked to community spirit as its participatory approach encourages solidarity with the common goal of cleaning the environment.

From the beginning of the activities up to now the ICRC Wat/Hab department constructed/rehabilitated 249 wells in 15 districts of Kabul city, benefiting a total number of 149'400 persons and improved totally 42'499 latrines in 7 districts of Kabul city for 521'955 beneficiaries. The ICRC has also been repairing the sewage system of 210 apartments of 11 blocks in Taheia-e-Maskan area, benefiting 3'000 persons, and 254 apartments of 24 blocks in Shna Mena in Khair Khana area for 2'268 persons so far.Orthopaedic Services

The Orthopaedic service of the ICRC in Afghanistan was established in 1988 in Kabul. Currently, the services are extended through additional facilities in Mazar-i-Sharif, opened in 1991, Herat in 1993, Jalalabad in 1995 and Gulbahar in 1999. According to the needs and remoteness of the area another orthopaedic center will soon be opened in Faizabad.

The ICRC, due to a severe lack of local structures, extended its assistance in 1995 to include non-amputees and non-war wounded patients. The main pathologies in this respect include poliomyelitis, spinal injuries, congenital deformities and cerebral palsy. This expansion resulted in a large increase in orthoses (splints, braces, calipers etc.) averaging around 3'500 additional clients per annum.

The ICRC Ortho centers employ mainly disabled persons, both male and female, and produce all the prostheses, orthoses, crutches, wheelchairs and other ortho components. In addition, the ortho centers provide physiotherapy and rehabilitation programs as well as comprehensive training opportunities for its staff.
In order to integrate disabled into the society, the ICRC orthopaedic center has launched a "Social Economical Rehabilitation of Disabled" (SERD) project where different categories of disabled receive supports in the form of loans for disabled to run small business, transport for school aged disabled to go to school or opportunity to learn at home, vocational training programs and job search for those who registered through the center.
Health Program

If a conflict drags on in an area with no adequate facilities or when the local hospitals cease to function, the ICRC may set up or help run surgical facilities to ensure that the wounded receive emergency treatment. Doctors and nurses operating on the wounded, work in extremely difficult conditions and have to deal with injuries rarely seen in peacetime. ICRC doctors with extensive experience in war surgery train local surgeons in the specialised techniques required to treat such cases.

In Afghanistan, in co-operation with the Ministry of Public Health and local authorities the ICRC:

- Supports 6 surgical wards in local general hospitals, two in Kabul city - Wazir Akbar Khan and Karte Seh (since 1992) - and four others in Jalalabad (1992), Ghazni (1995), Kandahar (1996) and Gulbahar (1999). This support includes expertise, training of personnel, provision of medical and nonmedical supplies, and maintenance and financial assistance;
- provides medical supplies, rehabilitation and material assistance to eight other hospitals throughout the country which receive war wounded and surgical emergencies; and
- assist in the form of medical supply some twenty additional health facilities, functioning as first aid facilities for war wounded.
Factsheet, June 2001