Emergency cash transfers for 21 thousand flood victims in Afghanistan
Hundreds of people have died and thousands of families have had their homes destroyed and damaged by flash floods in Afghanistan. In Baghlan, the province hardest hit by the floods, Hungarian Interchurch Aid has already begun to assist people who lost everything. Over the weekend, Faryab province has been struck by flash floods as well. Here, HIA is carrying out assessments in preparation for relief operations to help victims. In view of the increasingly serious situation, Hungarian Interchurch Aid is appealing to donors to join the relief efforts and support HIA’s work by donation on the link below.
Join our efforts in providing relief for the flood victims of Afghanistan!
After the flash floods receded, Hungarian Interchurch Aid conducted surveys to identify the most affected families and opened a field office to implement its aid programme in Baghlan. In partnership with the United Nations Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF), the first 724 flood-affected families have received emergency cash transfers, and a further 2,276 families can expect to receive the help they need to survive in the coming days. These transfers will allow victims to buy essentials based on their individual needs.
On 10 and 11 May, floods hit the northern and northeastern provinces of Afghanistan, and a week later, Faryab and Ghor provinces. The series of natural disasters killed more than 100 people in the two worst affected districts of Baghlan and at least 84 in Faryab province alone, according to the Hungarian Interchurch Aid’s field office. While relief efforts have already begun in Baghlan province, in Faryab province, the assessment of the damage and the victims is being carried out in cooperation with several international organisations. In line with its long term objectives, the HIA is also working to provide regular support to people who have lost everything and to participate in reconstruction programmes after the immediate disaster phase has passed.
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.
