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TALKING POINTS
In the next couple of days helicopters will rush extra supplies of erythromycine, along with vaccines and vaccination equipment procured by the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) to the affected area. The equipment and vaccines will allow Darwaz district health workers to provide accelerated immunization services to the population. Training in administering vaccinations is being provided by the team, which arrived on 2 January, which will also assess the extent of the epidemic and take samples for laboratory confirmation.
The joint effort to address the outbreak, which is spearheaded by the MOH, has received critical support from Tajikistan, which in some cases provides the only point of entry into some of mountainous Badakshan's villages. At both sides of the border, emergency assistance for Darwaz will be facilitated. The World Food Programme, the United Nations Joint Logistics Centre for Afghanistan (UNJLC) and the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA) in Tajikistan are also lending assistance by providing air and road transport for supplies and team members. The Afghan military along with UNAMA has also been providing logistic support.
We have copies of the press release available at the back of the room for you and there are also representatives from UNICEF and WHO to answer any questions you may have.
First off all we would like to inform you that the number of vulnerable people in the winter plan has increased due to more funds being made available by donors. As you remember, the DSRSG Nigel Fisher in his 12 December briefing said that groups were set up with the government, UNAMA and NGO's to work on the revised list of vulnerable for winter. Due to these efforts, the number of beneficiaries in Central Area of Afghanistan has doubled. The 23,000 beneficiary families initially targeted in the central area have now increased to 66,000.
As of 4, January 48 percent of 14,000 identified families in Kabul City were involved in cash-for-work activities, which includes labour intensive public activities such as road and building repair. And in Parwan province all the planned 200 families have benefited from the programme.
The distribution of non-food items (NFIs) continues. In Kabul city over 2,000 families received NFIs. The winter plan aims to cover 12,000 families. In Kabul province, over 8,000 families received their NFI's while In Logar all 4,100 families targeted have received their NFI assistance. In Kapisa over 5,000 families received NFIs, which is more than planned. While in Parwan, over 3000 families received assistance, which is 48 per cent of the plan. In Wardak the distribution of NFIs has only started recently. Overall, the non-food item programme for winter in central area of Afghanistan is half way through.
Coal distribution also continues: To date over 6000 families have received coal in Kabul city, which is 50 per cent of planned 12,000 families caseload. In Logar province the distribution of coal started on 2 January and in provinces such as Kabul, Kapisa, Parwan and Wardak the distribution of coal is ongoing.
Food Items: According the World Food Programme (WFP) - based on the findings of Vulnerability Assessment Mapping (VAM) - 70,000 MT of food will be required for areas with vulnerable populations. As of 30 December, that Agency dispatched all food commodities to implementing partners, and 11,200 MT were distributed to the beneficiaries. The distribution of food commodities to beneficiaries will continue in January and February 2003, in accordance with distribution plans prepared by WFP Area Offices and implementing partners.
As we receive information from the other regions we will keep you informed.
Following that exercise, on 2 January the Mazar Security Commission met and decided to establish a team in Shor Bolaq consisting of eight people from both Jumbesh and Jamiat as a temporary measure to ensure security in that location until the local authorities can form a police force. Secondly, a Mazar Security delegation consisting of Jumbesh, Jamiat, Hizb-e-Wahdat and UNAMA representatives travelled to Charkhab and Rahmatabad in Sholgara district of Balkh province yesterday to investigate whether this area needs to be disarmed. Another joint delegation will travel to Piruz Nakhjir in Samangan Province today to monitor the recent disarmament there and to ensure that the area remains secure.
The United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations Mr. Jean-Marie Guéhenno arrived in Kabul last Friday for a five-day visit. On Friday he met with UNAMA officials and on Saturday with Afghan President Hamid Karzai, Foreign Minister Abdullah Abdullah and Minister of Defence Mohammad Fahim. Today he is in Kandahar where he will meet Governor Gul Aga, UN Heads of Agencies, NGOs as well as visit the Zar-e-Dasht camp for internally displaced persons (IDPs). He will return to Kabul tomorrow and depart from Afghanistan on Tuesday.
On 2 January an emergency team comprised of Afghan Ministry of Health (MOH), the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Aga Khan Development Network/Focus went from Faizabad to Darwaz in Badakshan to stop an outbreak of Pertussis (whooping cough) which is threatening the lives of an estimated 40,000 infants and young children. In early November last year, pertussis was confirmed by WHO clinical criteria in Kufob in Kwahan District, Badakshan. Since then the antibiotic drug erythromycine has treated about 2000 children and mothers. Latest reports now indicate that whooping cough has affected Darwaz district, which is north of Khwahan.
We have an update on winter preparedness activities in the central region of Afghanistan.
Yesterday, Afghanistan's first association of women judges, the Afghan Women Judges Association (AWJA) was launched with support from the United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM). The AWJA was founded in order to ensure the active participation of women judges and lawyers in the judicial system and the provision of quality and reliable legal advice to vulnerable Afghan women around the country. Judge Marzia Basel will head the Association.
The AWJA's first initiative - the Training Programme on Legal Capacity Building of Judges and Lawyers - will train 100 women Judges and Lawyers in different laws of the country so that they may actively participate in the judicial reform of the country. The project also will provide free legal counseling for vulnerable women for a period of one year.
As we reported on 29 December, a disarmament delegation visited Shor Bolaq, in Chahar Kint district, in Balkh Province. The team, which included representatives of Jamiat and Jumbesh collected some 40 mostly light weapons. Jamiat and Jumbesh commanders were asked to go back to their units in Mazar-e-Sharif while the armaments were returned to weapons depots of the two factions. It is estimated, however, that a further 300 private weapons are still in the region and disarmament efforts will continue.