The UN Refugee Agency released a statement on Wednesday, informing about winter assistance with the support of the Government of Uzbekistan for Afghanistan.
The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), with the support of the Government of Uzbekistan, sent 12 trucks with over 48,000 blankets through the International Multifunctional Transport and Logistics Hub in Termez, Uzbekistan, to Afghanistan to provide life-saving assistance to forcibly displaced persons and other vulnerable people in Afghanistan during harsh winter.
The consignments were dispatched from UNHCR’s Regional Humanitarian Logistics Hub, which was established in October 2021 with the help of the Government of Uzbekistan.
“UNHCR, jointly with the Government of Uzbekistan, are making all efforts to continue the most critical life-saving humanitarian aid to the Afghan population. This is vital, especially during this cold winter. Thanks to support from the Uzbek Government and local partners, UNHCR can quickly assist in meeting the urgent needs of women, children, and men in Afghanistan,” said Frank Remus, UNHCR Senior Liaison Officer.
The winter assistance for Afghanistan includes sleeping mats, tarpaulins, heavy-duty buckets, blankets, stainless steel kitchen sets, jerry cans, and portable solar LED lamps, read the statement.
Last year, several parts of the country were hit with natural disasters such as earthquakes and floods, damaging hundreds of families in Afghanistan. In 2022, UNHCR assisted 5.9 million people across Afghanistan’s 34 provinces with core relief supplies, monetary support, and protection and reintegration initiatives.
At least 124 people have died in Afghanistan due to freezing weather, even though relief efforts are already hampered due to the interim government’s ban on working women with aid agencies. The 2023 winter has broken all extreme cold records and is wreaking havoc across the country.
