Four International Relief Agencies Expand Efforts As Taliban Retreats

World Concern
Tuesday, 13 November 2001

A joint announcement from World Concern, Northwest Medical Teams, Food for the Hungry & Central Asian Development Agency.

(SEATTLE) – Today, a four-agency partnership of international relief organizations announced they would expand humanitarian efforts in Afghanistan as reports of Northern Alliance victories and Taliban retreats came back from the most active battle areas.

The partner agencies – World Concern, Northwest Medical Teams, Food for the Hungry, and the Central Asia Development Agency (CADA) – plan to provide food, clothing, shelter and medical aid for more than a quarter-million suffering people in villages and refugee camps in the northern province of Takhâr, plus begin positioning their relief workers and supplies to move quickly into nearby Konduz and Baghlân .

Much of Takhâr is currently under Northern Alliance control. Thousands of families have fled there for safety and aid.

In recent months, these agencies have brought almost $5.0 million of humanitarian aid into the region through Tajikistan, where CADA has almost 100 employees. In addition,

- Food for the Hungry relief personnel already are working in Afghanistan, with two more planning to arrive later this month,

- A "first-in" group of medical volunteers with Northwest Medical Teams will depart November 23 to spend 1-2 months in Afghanistan working with critically ill refugees, and

- Additional shipments of food, clothing, shoes and shelter supplies will leave from World Concern and Food for the Hungry distribution centers within weeks.

"Relief like this will be needed for a long time," says David Lovett, CADA's executive director, Dushanbe, Tajikistan. "Our ultimate goal is development, but there are critical needs that need to be met first."

CADA has previously shipped enough clothing for 100,000 people, but now Lovett expects to help up to 266,000 suffering people with food, medicine and health care, shelter and clothing. "It's a life-saving gift to these people," he says. "Winter has already arrived – a month earlier than normal. People will die without this desperately needed aid."

For more information, or to contact World Concern, see their website at: www.worldconcern.org