Afghanistan Regional FSAC Cluster Update_ July 2015
North East Region
Key update on food security situation:
Flooding have affected many households in remote districts of Badakhshan province, but due to accessibility issues, timely and appropriate food responses couldn’t be provided to the affected people in Shukai, Maimai, Nusai, Wakhan, Shighnan, Kufab and Zebak districts of Badakhshan province. The affected people are highly in need of food assistance. The recent flooding during the month of July 2015 have destroyed about 1,433 jeribs of agriculture lands, 57 KM of irrigation canals, 6.5 KM of roads in Warduj, Zebak, Shighnan, Shuhada and Taulqan districts which puts negative impacts on food availability, access and utilization of the affected people in these districts. The DDA head and community elders of Arghanjakhah district reported to DAIL Badakhshan that their cultivated wheat crops are highly affected by the rust and they are too worried that will not get at least 50% of their expected harvest this year. As majority of this district is under the control of AGEs, DAIL Badakhshan couldn’t send any survey team to the area till now, however they are trying to conduct a rapid assessment ASAP to confirm the impact of the rust on this year’s harvest. It worth mentioning that due to long-lasting rainfalls in spring of 2014, this district along with some other cold climate districts of Badakhshan province couldn’t get normal harvest last year and people are highly in need of food assistance. An ongoing emergency food distribution (in response to the highly food gaps during the lean season) is ongoing in the area, but due to the presence of AGEs and physical accessibility issues, the beneficiary verification process is very slow. Food prices are reported very high (even double of the prices in Faizabad) in the remote/inaccessible districts of Badakhshan (Shukai, Maimai, Shighnan, Khahan, Kufab, Arghanjkhah and Koran o Monjan) due to accessibility issues.
Key updates on the recent natural disaster/shocks affecting North East Region:
https://www.humanitarianresponse.info/en/operations/afghanistan/document/iom-hap-raf-data-01-january-31-july-2015
Flooding affected 167 families in Shighnan and Warduj districts of Badakhshan province. Sudden/heavy snow melting caused river water flow (river bank erosion) which affected 75 Households in Zebak district and 283 families in Shuhda districts of Badakhshan province (confirmed with IOM that the affected families in Shuhada district were also affected by floods, not river bank erosion). Also 5 families were affected in Taluqan district of Takhar province. These massive flooding and river water flows also caused displacement of 525 families in Badakhshan province. Also damaged the roads, agriculture lands and irrigation canals of 1,297 families in the month of July 2015. Reportedly another 129 families are affected by floods in Maimai, Nusai and Kufab districts of Badakhshan province (confirmed through phone by IOM, but still the RAFs are not received.).
Key update on assessment and responses:
12 joint Emergency Assessments for verification of Natural Disaster affected people were conducted in Warduj, Shighnan, Zebak and Shuhada districts of Badakhshan and Taluqan district of Takhar provinces. So far, appropriate food responses were provided to the 5 cases. For the rest food assistance will be provided as soon as accessibility allows. As of 31 July 2015, 1,117 conflict induced IDPs were registered in Badakhshan province. Out of these 1,117 families, 753 families received food assistance and the remaining 364 families will receive within the next weeks. 8,076.516MT of mixed food commodities were distributed by WFP Faizabad Sub office under different projects/activities in two provinces of Badakhshan and Takhar during January-July 2015. 1,268.748 MT of Mixed food commodities were delivered/distributed by WFP Faizabad sub office in Month of July 2015 in two provinces of Badakhshan and Takhar.
Main challenges for FSAC partners.
Badakhshan and Takhar are the only provinces in north-eastern region, which are operationally covered by WFP and FAO sub offices (located in Badakhshan province). Therefore we are rarely receiving updated information on the food security situation, natural hazards etc… from Baghlan and Kunduz provinces, also we don’t have updated information regarding the assessments conducted or responses provided in those provinces. Therefore providing accurate/updated information for those provinces is not possible for the existing FSAC co-leads (as majority of the NGOs and agencies present in Kunduz and Baghlan are reporting to Mazar or directly Kabul). This issue have been also shared with national FSAC during last year’s FSAC capacity building workshop, also had been reported via the FSAC MoMs. As we couldn’t organize any FSAC meeting in other 3 provinces of North East Region, most of the times, the provided snapshots are representative to Badakhshan and Takhar provinces. Due to accessibility issues (poor road infrastructures), humanitarian organizations could not respond to the natural disaster affected people in Wakhan, Shighnan, Zebak, Nusai, Maimai and Shukai districts of Badakhshan province until the end of July 2015. Physical accessibility has been hampered in some districts of Badakhshan province due to the recent flooding and river’s overflow. Deterioration of security is another factor which limits the access of humanitarian organization to all the people in need.
When is the next FSAC meeting? Due to some unavoidable reasons (security issues, increased natural disasters and Eid holidays) the planned FSAC meeting for 28 July has been postponed. Therefore the next meeting is planned for the 4th week of August 2015 and will be held in Takhar province.
Photo of the damages caused by the recent flooding in Badakhshan province Photo credit: IOM Badakhshan/Mashal Darwish
Photo of the damages caused by the recent flooding in Shuhada district of Badakhshan province Photo credit: IOM Badakhshan/Mashal Darwish