A father and his children receive blankets and pillows from CWS-P/A. Photo: CWS
APPEAL CODE: # 700-N
EXPANDED APPEAL GOAL: $550,421 (from $494,020)
PLEDGED TO DATE TOWARD GOAL: $185,000
Situation
As noted in the initial May 7 appeal, Afghanistan is experiencing severe weather affecting tens of thousands of persons. Flash floods and landslides in the country over the past weeks have affected 120,000 people across 16 provinces. An estimated 675 people have died. Many of them were swept away by floodwaters or buried under mud.
Among the most severely affected areas are the provinces of Badakhshan and Jawzjan, along with Takhar Province, which has experienced not only severe rains but also a 4.1 magnitude earthquake and landslides.
Inaccessibility remains a challenge in areas where roadways were severely damaged, where floodwaters remain, and where insecurity poses high risk to relief efforts. Overcoming these challenges will be essential to ensuring the most vulnerable families in these areas receive assistance.
In Argo District, Badakhshan Province, many families struggle to cope with difficulties in the aftermath of massive landslides. Many of the affected families depend on small-scale farming as their main source of income and food. The effects of the floods and landslides will be largely felt during harvest in the coming months as this season’s crops remain under water or mud. In addition to meeting affected families’ emergency needs, recovery efforts in the months ahead will be essential to restore livelihoods.
CWS Response
CWS is currently distributing non-food items (pillows and mattresses) to affected families in the Argo District, Badakhshan Province – thus far to 200 families in Aabbarik-Nowabad Village and Afaqi Village. Also distributed: 32 hygiene kits in hygiene awareness-raising sessions attended by 50 women.
CWS is in close coordination with local stakeholders, community members, government agencies, the United Nations and other non-governmental organizations working in the area to assess needs and to ensure complementary of interventions and avoid duplication.
Distributions will continue in Badakhshan and Jawzjan provinces during the next several days. Over the next three months, CWS plans to target assistance to families in those two provinces – nearly 2,000 individuals directly and 3,420 indirectly, including cash-for-work projects and irrigation system improvements, along with disaster risk-reduction trainings. Also included: food packages, mattresses, transportation costs, mobile health teams. Total cost: $550,421.
For more details, see the ACT Alliance appeal. CWS is a member of the ACT Alliance, a global coalition of churches and agencies engaged in development, humanitarian assistance and advocacy.
How to Help
Contributions to support CWS emergency response efforts may be sent to your denomination/communion or to Church World Service, P.O. Box 968, Elkhart, IN 46515. For the Afghanistan Floods and Landslides Appeal, please indicate #700-N. Donations to our emergency response efforts around the globe may also be made online.