Humanitarians deliver winterization aid in Afghanistan: UN

UNITED NATIONS - The United Nations and its partners are distributing winter clothing, emergency shelter, heating, fuel and rent support for tens of thousands of people in Afghanistan, UN humanitarians said on Tuesday.

"Previous-year trends indicate that in November, cases of hypothermia, acute respiratory infections and death directly and indirectly associated with cold start to increase," the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said.

The world organization and partners reported that 23,800 people received winterization assistance across 32 of Afghanistan's 34 provinces between Sept 1 and Nov 15, the office said. The recipients got heating/fuel assistance and winter clothing through cash modalities and in-kind blanket distributions as some temperatures plunged below freezing.

By Monday, the United Nations completed distributing winterization assistance to 32,200 people in Kunar, Nangarhar and Nuristan provinces, OCHA said. In addition, humanitarian partners are responding with aid.

The world body began distributing winterization cash assistance on Monday in Jawzjan Province to cover 1,750 people, OCHA said. The program focuses on internally displaced and drought-affected people, returnees, vulnerable host communities, female- and child-headed households, the elderly and people with disabilities.

The 2021 Afghanistan Flash Appeal has reached 112 percent or $677 million. The different Humanitarian Response Plan is 84 percent funded at $729 million.

"Humanitarians are grateful for the generous contribution by the donor community," the office said. Some financial commitments have not been translated into actions on the ground due to financial system challenges amid Afghanistan's cash and liquidity crisis.