Winterization Assistance Continues Across Afghanistan

Kabul, Dec 7 : The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) has said that the provision of winterization assistance continues across Afghanistan.

Between November 29 and December 5, more than 81,000 people received the assistance in Nangarhar, Kunar and Nuristan provinces, the OCHA said in a statement on Monday.

Some 284,500 people received relief food assistance, and about 46,000 people in Paktia and Kabul provinces were reached with cash assistance.

During the past week, the World Health Organization (WHO) provided 74 essential medicine items Chardehi Health Facility in Nangarhar province.

The intervention follows a joint visit to the facility by the WHO, the Department of Public Health in Nangarhar and a non-governmental organisation to identify critical gaps.

On Sunday, the OCHA and the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) undertook a road mission to visit a non-food item distribution site and assess additional needs of the affected population, including health and water, sanitation and hygiene services.

According to the OCHA, the Afghanistan Flash Appeal is 113 per cent funded ($683 million) and the Afghanistan Humanitarian Response Plan is currently 84 per cent funded ($730 million).

Nonetheless, with the deepening humanitarian crisis, the 2022 Humanitarian Response Plan requirement has tripled, to $4.47 billion.

Continued scaled-up support to Afghanistan is crucial to continue to save lives and the livelihoods of millions of people, said the OCHA.