Global IssuesAFGHANISTAN: Long Drought Raises Spectre of Famine
The battle to contain the growing political and military turmoil in Afghanistan may be temporarily overshadowed by an impending threat to millions of people in that strife-torn country: food shortages and starvation.
'The most severe drought in a decade is fueling a grave food crisis that threatens millions of people,' Marvin Parvez, the Asia-Pacific coordinator for Church World Service (CWS), told IPS.
He said the food crisis remains a serious issue. 'Although immediate food needs are met to a great extent, it is only a short-term solution to prolonged food security in Afghanistan.'
Since the focus has been primarily on the spreading insurgency and the rise in suicide bombings, the drought and food shortages have continued to remain on the back burner, according to one U.N. diplomat.
Kai Eide, the U.N's special representative and head of the U.N. Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA), warned the Security Council last year about the impending food crisis.
'I was deeply concerned about the humanitarian situation and the prospects of starvation occurring in large parts of the country,' he told the Council last week.
'That danger has not passed,' he said. 'But so far, the winter has not brought the humanitarian crisis that many of us feared.'
Eide said that by the middle of April, the United Nations will be better able to assess the situation and prospects than today.
CWS, described as a global humanitarian agency, said in a report last week that it was providing immediate assistance to the most vulnerable in three challenged provinces.
'Life continues to be difficult for all Afghans, but tens of thousands of displaced Afghans and returnees from Pakistan and Iran are particularly at risk,' Parvez added.
According to a report released in early March, the United Nations said that 'owing to poor rainfall, the year's cereal harvest was the smallest since 2002, and more than 5.0 million people are in need of immediate food assistance.'
The study also said that about 1.2 million children under the age of five and 550,000 pregnant or lactating mothers in 22 provinces remain at 'high risk of severe malnutrition.'
The shortage of water has also led to the displacement of vulnerable populations, with U.N. agencies constructing over 800 watering points in returnee and drought-affected areas.
Based on U.N. estimates, CWS said, about 2.2 million tonnes of cereals need to be imported into the country this year just to meet basic needs.
Commercial imports were expected to provide 1.5 million tonnes. 'But in the current situation - marked by high prices and the smallest wheat harvest in years - any meaningful commercial imports of food and agricultural inputs are unlikely,' CWS added.
The bulk of the nearly 1.0 million tonne shortfall will need to be met by the international donor community.
Meanwhile, a study by the Washington based U.S. Institute of Peace (USIP) said last month that their research discovered that many donors have not met their financial commitments to the country.
'In some cases, this is due to unfulfilled promises, while in other instances it is due to poor execution rates, high corruption, technical requirements of the contractor, and problems in the security environment.'
The study singled out two countries - Japan and Canada - which have met about 90 percent of their commitments, while India and the Asian Development Bank, for example, have distributed only about one-third of their commitments.
Asked if the international community has failed, Christine Fair, one of the authors of the USIP study, told IPS that there have been important successes, including some form of imperfect democracy.
She said there have also been elections conducted with significant degrees of fairness and freeness with public participation, while the economy has improved and the quality of life for many Afghans, according to a variety of measures, has improved.
'That being said, the international community has not achieved the most capacious goals,' Fair added.
She said the Afghan government has deep problems with legitimacy and corruption, it can't extract domestic revenue to pay for key services, subnational governance remains weak and the country hasn't embraced serious commitment to rule of law.
'For that matter, the international community has not embraced rule of law apart from training police forces. And the international community is building institutions that are not sustainable,' she added.
Meanwhile, an international conference on Afghanistan, to be held in The Hague Mar. 31, will focus on the current problems facing the south Asian nation. The conference will be opened by Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.
© Inter Press Service (2009) — All Rights ReservedOriginal source: Inter Press Service