QRCS Commences on Emergency Relief Intervention for Afghanistan

Qatar Red Crescent Society (QRCS)

QNA

 

Qatar Red Crescent Society (QRCS) is responding to the recent events in Afghanistan, with their direct implications for the Afghan people, already suffering severe living conditions due to poverty, conflict, and natural disasters.

Once the crisis erupted, QRCS's Disaster Information Management Center (DIMC) in Doha was activated on August 22, 2021, to keep updated about the latest information and coordinate with the Afghan Red Crescent Society (ARCS) on the field.

QRCS allocated QR 1 million from its Contingency Fund for an urgent two-month humanitarian intervention that involves the provision of food parcels and basic health services.

At the same time, a fundraising campaign was launched to meet the most pressing needs, mainly health care, food, and makeshift shelter, based on the status updates reported by the concerned international organizations.

All over the country, the situation remains volatile, amid considerable challenges due to a food crisis, unstable weather conditions, and ongoing unrest. Until the first week of August, there have been 550,780 displaced persons.

Around 14.5 million are expected to need emergency health services, and almost 18.4 million need humanitarian aid during 2021 alone, according to UN reports.

There are concerns of a wider spread of COVID-19, as a result of the failing health sector and shortage in health supplies nationwide. During August only, 0ver 9,000 infections were reported, in addition to 697 deaths.

QRCS has been working in Afghanistan since April 2014, under a framework agreement with ARCS, with a view to reaching out to the provinces worst affected by emergencies. Over the past seven years, QRCS provided QR 36,231,736 worth of humanitarian aid for the vulnerable communities in Afghanistan, addressing the fields of emergency relief, shelter, water and sanitation, health care, livelihoods, food security, and winterization aid.