Emergency Relief
Afghanistan
Devastating Earthquake in Afghanistan
In the late evening of June 21, shortly before 11 p.m., a severe earthquake struck the provinces of Paktika and Khost in south-eastern Afghanistan. At least 1,000 people have been killed and more than 1,500 injured, but the numbers are likely to increase. Many houses were destroyed.
We sent a coordinator to the earthquake area on June 22 to find out what is most needed and how we can help. In any case, we will distribute food and possibly provide funds for necessary medical assistance. Since taking power last summer, only a few international organizations have been working in the country. We have already carried out various food distributions, including large ones, at the moment we are doing this in Kandahar and Herat.
Our country manager and our Afghan employees are currently trying to coordinate the help so that there are no duplications and that help can be provided effectively.
In the city of Khost, about 30-40 kilometers from the epicenter, we had a roofing material factory for house construction for many years. We are trying to get this going again so that people can rebuild their houses after the destruction. We have built seismic reinforcements into houses before.
For this we need your support. Please help us with your donation. Keyword: Earthquake Paktika.
Food Relief
Today the priority need of the population at large is for the provision of the basics of food.
Shelter has always assisted many people during the harshest times of the year to try and lighten the burden they face. However, currently the need is widespread throughout the country in this season, before the harvest.
24.4 million Afghans will be at potentially life-threatening levels of hunger, of which 12.9 million are children.*
WHO and WFP estimate that "3.2 million Afghan children under age five will suffer from acute malnutrition this winter, with one million at risk of dying.”
The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) report released in September says that "up to 97% of Afghanistan’s population was at risk of slipping below the poverty line by mid-2022 as a result of the worsening political and economic crises." *
SNI has the ability to offer many people food to help them make it through the brutal drought, rising costs, displacement and joblessness.
*OCHA (UN Office of Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, 15 June 2022)
Through generous donations in 2021 we provided relief for:
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Food relief for 800 Chalou families in the Laghman province
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Food relief for 1,000 IDP refugee families in Kandahar
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Food relief for 750 IDP refugee families in Laghman
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Winter food relief 800 Kuchi families
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Food relief for 555 IDP families in Kabul
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Winter food relief for 885 Chalou families in the Kabul
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Winter food relief for 831 Chalou families in Kabul
This is equivalent to about 39,400 men, women and children in need of emergency assistance
But we still have urgent needs
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Food relief for IDP families in Afghanistan .
To last two to three months, it costs about $147 AUD per family to provide the basic food items of:
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50 kg of flour
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10 litres cooking oil
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4 kg kidney beans
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25 kg rice
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1 kg tea
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5 kg sugar for tea
Firewood relief
"The country is currently facing the second drought in four years, the worst of its kind in 27 years. As a result, Afghanistan now has the highest number of people in emergency food insecurity in the world – this is a terrifying 35 per cent increase from the same time last year. More than one in two children under-five is facing acute malnutrition and will be at risk of death if immediate action is not taken."*
*https://reliefweb.int/report/afghanistan/afghanistan-humanitarian-response-plan-2022-january-2022