Emergency aid programme provides relief for Afghanistan flood victims
HIA sets up field office in Baghlan as part of the cooperation with UN agencies
Flash floods devastated the northern and northeastern provinces of Afghanistan on 10 and 11 May. The severe floods have killed hundreds of people and rainfall continues to hinder relief efforts. In addition to washed away roads, culverts and public buildings, 9,000 houses were partially or completely destroyed in Badakhshan, Baghlan and Takhar provinces. Hungarian Interchurch Aid (HIA)– thanks to its permanent presence in Afghanistan – responded almost immediately by starting its aid programme in most-affected Baghlan province.
On 13 May, HIA in Afghanistan opened a field office in Baghlan, where 25 staff members have started with the coordination of the aid programme by conducting surveys and selecting most affected households. The aim is to provide immediate assistance to hundreds of families by providing emergency aid items in collaboration with UNICEF in the 3 most affected districts of Baghlan province – Baglani Jadid, Burka and Guzargahi Nur. In line with its long-term goals, HIA is also working to provide continued support to the people who have lost everything and to participate in reconstruction programmes with the end of the relief phase.
We kindly invite our esteemed donors to support the survivors of the flash floods in Afghanistan by bank transfer (see below) with the reference “Afghanistan” or by credit card by clicking on the “I can help” button below.
Based on HIA’s local assessments and statements by the Afghanistan National Disaster Management Authority (ANDMA), the most affected districts were Baghlani Jadid and Burka in Baghlan province. In these two districts alone, more than 100 people have died in the floods. In addition to infrastructure, agricultural land was also affected by the floods. In Baghlan province, 15,000 hectares of farmland, orchards and thousands of livestock were destroyed and lost by the floods. The damage to the province’s road network makes it even more difficult to carry out accurate assessments and to provide emergency assistance, but HIA’s newly opened field office has already started its operations.
Hungarian Interchurch Aid has been working in Afghanistan since 2001. During this period, it has directly assisted more than 1,5 million people in 10 provinces of the country in cooperation with UN Agencies, INGOs, Hungary’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade and the Hungary Helps Agency within the framework of humanitarian and development programmes. In addition to its emergency aid programme targeting flood victims, HIA will also provide food items to ~170,000 people in Faryab province in partnership with the World Food Programme as well as cash-based assistance on a monthly basis. Participating in rural development through the coordination of community work involving thousands of beneficiary families, HIA cleans and constructs irrigation canals, builds and maintains dams; participates in reforestation, road and reservoir repair and other public infrastructure-related development projects.
