KABUL — International and local relief
organizations are shifting their focus from the immediate to longer-term for
areas of
Afghanistan hit by last week’s killer earthquake, officials said
Monday.
اضافة اعلان
The 5.9-magnitude quake early last Wednesday hit
hardest in impoverished Paktika province in the east, killing more than 1,000
people and leaving tens of thousands homeless.
While aid and shelter have reached almost all areas
affected, the longer-term prospects look bleak and assistance limited in a
country already in the grip of a humanitarian crisis made worse since the
Taliban’s return to power in August.
“Our teams have observed that currently, there is
not so much of a need for food or non-food items,” Nooruddin Turabi, deputy
president of the Afghan Red Crescent Society, told a news conference in Kabul.
He said the most pressing need was for cash to
enable those affected to buy basic materials to rebuild their lives.
“We will discuss (with partners) a long-term plan.
Currently, enough first aid has been delivered — whether it is tents, shelter,
food, or other items.”
The UNDP said it believed women would be at the
center of rebuilding communities hardest hit by the quake.
“When it comes to reconstruction of the local
economy ... we will make sure that women are at the core of that,” said
Abdallah Al-Dardari, the UNDP resident representative.
‘Testing ground’
Afghanistan’s Taliban rulers
have been criticized for reintroducing a
hardline version of Islamic rule that imposes severe restrictions on women —
including their right to education, work, and travel.
“This will be a
testing ground on how we are moving forward with this women’s economic
empowerment,” Al Dardari told AFP.
“We are determined,
there is no way around that — and we believe, in fact, from the early signs
from the ground, it will be women, who are actually today keeping those local
communities alive.”
The
World Health Organization (WHO) said it was sending trauma teams to Paktika to help
survivors deal with the psychological effects of the earthquake.
Hardly a family in
rural Gayan district escaped untouched by the tragedy, and there are multiple
reports of households with more than a dozen members being killed.
“The exact numbers
of casualties and houses/premises destruction are still not fully identified
and not yet confirmed,” the WHO said in its latest bulletin.
“Challenges remain
in accessibility... traffic and road conditions in the affected areas have
delayed the delivery of supplies.”
Doctors Without Borders (MSF) said that having dealt with the immediate needs of those injured
in the quake, focus was now on the weeks and months ahead.
“Now health needs are turning to dehydration and diarrhea
caused by a lack of safe water,” said Jose Mas, MSF emergency coordinator.
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