Humanitarian workers urge international community to boost support to Afghanistan as earthquake deaths rise

ABC NEWS (Australia)

Afghanistan's Taliban government has urged humanitarian organisations to help, after an earthquake has left hundreds of people dead. At least 800 Afghans are reported to have been killed, with thousands of others wounded, but the death toll could still rise significantly with many feared buried under rubble.

Transcript

00:00Since this devastating earthquake hit Eastern Afghanistan on Sunday, it specifically affected

00:09the provinces of Kunar, Laguman and Nangahar. Especially Kunar has been very deeply affected

00:16and this province is one of the most rugged and mountainous parts of the country, which means

00:21that there are steep mountains, valleys, and it makes us very, very hard for aid workers to reach

00:27the communities. But Roz, let's put this in perspective. This is happening in Afghanistan,

00:33where half of the country, and I'm talking of 23 million people, are already in need of

00:38humanitarian assistance. So we have been hearing that, seeing in a matter of minutes, hundreds,

00:45thousands of people lost everything they had, not only their belongings, but also their loved ones

00:51and sense of safety. So it's a hugely urgent crisis and Afghans are bearing the brunt of this.

00:57over an already dire situation.

01:01So what are the main challenges then, Deepmala, facing aid agencies like yours? You've already

01:06mentioned the mountainous terrain. There are also reports of landslides.

01:13So absolutely, one of the biggest challenges for us is humanitarian access, how to reach the

01:19communities, though the UN humanitarian aviation flights have been opened up for Jalalabad,

01:24so that gives an outlet. The other big challenge for us is the resources, because Afghanistan's

01:31humanitarian response has been underfunded. So if the donors do not step up, we will not be able to

01:37scale our humanitarian response. And the third big challenge, I would say, is the terrain, which really

01:44makes it very, very difficult to reach the affected people. But I do want to highlight, there are strong,

01:49trusted and experienced organizations, international, as well as local Afghan organizations who are already

01:56in action. What we need right now is quick and urgent support to step up the response.

02:03What are the immediate priorities then for people on the ground? What's needed the most?

02:09Communities immediately need shelter, food, water, blankets, warm clothes, cooking pots and pans,

02:17and specifically medical care and medicines because of the injured. These are the urgent,

02:23immediate needs that we are hearing from the communities.

02:25Okay. How hard is it for you to contact your workers there? What are communications like?

02:30It's a bit patchy, but it is possible to get information. But communication is manageable

02:37and possible. We cannot do it minute by minute. But we are in touch.

02:43And what's the attitude, Deem Mala, of the ruling Taliban towards the disaster? What impact

02:48is its regime having on the disaster response?

02:52See, for humanitarian organizations like Care and others, we have a singular mandate,

02:57one focused priority, which is saving lives and reaching the most vulnerable people. And we would

03:04coordinate with the de facto authorities as necessary. So far, we have not faced any blockages and we

03:09have been able to initiate our immediate needs assessment and humanitarian response. So with the years and

03:16years of experience of working in the country, having trusted local partners, having strong relationships

03:22relationships with communities, community elders, we are able to deliver and coordinating as it is needed.

03:28And there's been a sharp drop in international aid to Afghanistan since the Taliban took over and also

03:34more recently from the U.S. undercuts to U.S. aid. So how fragile has this left the country?

03:41Extremely fragile, extremely fragile. The foreign aid cuts have really affected the communities, the people,

03:50even ongoing humanitarian and development work would have been scaled down or organizations have had to shut it

03:58down completely. So this definitely has increased the fragility of the community, especially for women

04:03and girls, because they have been bearing the brunt of this crisis for several decades. So pulling off

04:10support from highly vulnerable communities which have been facing disaster after disaster. Even two years

04:17ago, we had an earthquake in Herat. There have been so many disasters. So definitely taking away humanitarian

04:23aid is one step which we do not want at this moment. And it has left communities, especially women and girls,

04:30highly, highly, highly vulnerable. And I do want to highlight Ross that a step of support at the right time,

04:37if it is not given, the recovery takes much longer and it may actually get more expensive to save and build lives.

Category

Transcript

Be the first to comment

Recommended