$614m funding needed for winter operations

KABUL (TOLOnews): The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said in a report that some $614 million is urgently required to support priority winter preparedness activities such as upgrades and repairs to shelter and the provision of warm clothes and blankets in Afghanistan.
According to the report, 24 million people need food-aid in Afghanistan.
“Unlike past seasonal prioritisation exercises, the 2022 Winter Prioritisation is a costed prioritisation. All activities included consider winter-specific and winter season focused assistance,” the report said. “With a strict lens applied to the costing, the immediate funding gaps highlighted reflect planned response in each clusters’ top priority districts.”
Najia is a woman struggling with poverty.
She said that her husband is working as a vendor but the income is too low to help meet their essential needs.
“We have nothing. I have five children. Their father makes between 100 to 150 Afs on a daily basis… there is no job, we are in shock about what to do,” she said.
Residents of Kabul city said they are critical of the aid distribution process.
“We need aid. I rent my house. I haven’t paid my electricity and water bills for the past three months,” said a resident of Kabul.
“The aid is for everyone—for all of the people of Afghanistan. We know that those who were working for the government are jobless now,” said a resident of Kabul.
This comes as the World Food Programme said it provided aid to more than 21 million people this year in the country.
“The aid includes 610,000 metric tons wheat. As I said before, the distribution has been either in cash or coupon. We continue our aid and we are planning to extend our aid for winter,” said Wahidullah Amani, WFP Afghanistan’s spokesman.
Earlier, the WFP said that it needs $172 million to provide aid including 150,000 tons of wheat to vulnerable across the country.