ReliefWeb

HIGHLIGHTS

• The High Commissioner for Refugees (HC) visited Afghanistan from 12-15 September, following which he appealed for urgent and sustained support for Afghans inside the country. In Kabul, he met with the interim Afghan government, as well as some of the UN and NGO staff that have maintained operations. He welcomed the interim Government’s commitments to provide security and enable humanitarian access throughout the country and discussed with them other critical issues, such as ensuring that women staff can return safely to work and the importance of education for all Afghans.

• During the visit – and a with a view to UNHCR and partners scaling up operations further ahead of winter season – the HC also oversaw ongoing UNHCR operations in the country, including the arrival of a convoy of trucks at a UNHCR warehouse in Kabul that had arrived from Pakistan. During a field visit to Mazar-e-Sharif, in northern Afghanistan, the HC inaugurated a carpet workshop, which is one of many ongoing such UNHCR projects helping to support and stabilise Afghan communities, including displaced returnees.

• Following the visit to Afghanistan, the HC also travelled to Pakistan for a two-and-a-half-day visit, where he held talks with high-ranking Government officials and exchanged views on the situation in Afghanistan, thanking the Government for supporting ongoing humanitarian operations in Afghanistan and hosting Afghan refugees for decades. He called for continued support to Pakistan. While UNHCR has not yet observed significant refugee movements outside of Afghanistan, the HC highlighted the need to provide safety to Afghans who may need to cross the border and have compelling protection needs or may be at risk.

• There are now some 634,800 conflict induced IDPs in Afghanistan since January 2021, as confirmed by OCHA. According to UNHCR sources, some 100,000 IDPs may have returned to their places or origin in recent weeks, though this number is in the process of being verified. Some 25,000 have returned to areas where UNHCR is currently implementing development projects supporting the stabilisation and resilience of all communities, including returnees (PARRs).

• From 1 January 2021 to 18 September 2021, UNHCR has assisted some 340,000 internally displaced persons in Afghanistan. This includes providing non-food items to some 181,000 persons, hygiene kits to 120,000 persons, sanitary kits to 20,000 women and girls, family tents to 12,000 persons, cash assistance to 4,000 persons with specific needs (the elderly, children and women at risk, serious medical conditions, and persons with disabilities), food rations to nearly 1000 persons and emergency shelter kits to more than 300 persons.

• During the reporting period, further UNHCR trucks carrying 2,400 tents crossed the Torkham border from Pakistan to Afghanistan. Another shipment of 7,300 plastic sheets, 11,520 blankets, 5,700 kitchen sets and 10,000 jerrycans also crossed the following day. Distributions are ongoing across the country for those who need them most. Since January 2021, UNHCR has provided core relief items like these to over 180,000 people, including over 6,500 people in the past week.

• United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres convened a High-level Ministerial Meeting on the Humanitarian Situation in Afghanistan on 13 September 2021, with the HC participating from Kabul. As part of this, a USD 606.2 million Flash Appeal was officially launched, presenting new needs which have emerged (USD 193 million) as well as a prioritization of unmet needs under the existing Humanitarian Response Plan (USD 413 million). Some 1.2 billion was reportedly raised from the donor community for the humanitarian needs. UNHCR leads the Protection and Shelter/NFI Clusters under the HRP, which aim to reach 1.5 million and 900,000 people by the end of the year respectively.