A closer look at MSF in
Afghanistan and Central Asia
With the focus of international attention moving away from the military action in Afghanistan, there is still the issue of the remnants of the military action. Cluster bombs that were dropped on both military and civilian targets had a failure rate of 20%. This means hundreds of unexploded ordinances are on the ground throughout the country, threatening life and limb of the innocent civilian population.
MSF has released an update on the situation, including accounts from two civilians who have been injured recently by an unexploded ordinance (UXO). Cluster bombs the legacy to Afghan population
Devloping food crisis
One of the long-forecast consequences of the inability of humanitarian organisations to function in Afghanistan would be the short and long term feeding issues. Now, in mid-winter, MSF has specific information regarding the developing malnutrition levels in the country.
Press release, January 18, 2002 Food crisis worsens in north Afghanistan
The number of severely malnourished children in the province of Faryab on the rise, with the rate now at one child in seven. MSF has also seen a substantial increase in the number of severely malnourished children coming to the feeding centers in Faryab province. This is an alarming sign of a deteriorating food crisis. Since August, the situation has only worsened and there is only one way to prevent further degradation.
MSF update, January 18, 2002 Cluster bombs the legacy to Afghan population
While the military offensive in Afghanistan may have ended, the threat of unexploded cluster bombs remains. MSF has been documenting these non-military casualties and calls for greater demining activity in the country. MSF also calls for the end of the use of cluster bombs as they should be classified as indiscriminate weapons and would then be prohibited from use under the Geneva Convention.
Press release, December 5, 2001 - MSF calls upon warring parties
to spare Afghan civilians
MSF has seen increasing evidence of an unacceptably high number of Afghan civilian casualties from the ongoing military operations. The US-led coalition has the responsibility to respect international humanitarian law which calls on proportionality in the use of force.
Press release, December 5, 2001 - MSF asks that Iranian authorities remove
obstacles to aid operations in Afghanistan
Over the past ten days, around 2,000 newly displaced Afghans have arrived in camps - located on the Aghanistan side of the Iran/Afghanistan border yet installed by Iranian authorities. During the night of Dec 2-3, three children, aged one to six, died of hunger, cold and exhaustion. However MSF still has not been allowed to distribute shelter, blankets and food to these people.
"This population is trapped inside Afghanistan with no way out and many dangers inside," said Pierre Salignon, director of operations for MSF in Iran and Afghanistan.
December 5, 2001 - Open letter to Afghan Support Group meeting participants, Berlin
With the Afghan Support Group meeting in Berlin on Dec 5-6 to coordinate humanitarian aid efforts and to develop develop strategies for the reconstruction and rehabilitation of Afghanistan, MSF returns to the core issues of humanitarian needs throughout the country. Provision of humanitarian supplies, integrity and independance of humanitarian action, protection of populations and clear support from other countries are integral to the problems faced today and not so different from the challenges faced before.
Nov 30, 2001 MSF update-
More than 50 MSF international
aid workers inside Afghanistan
Working from six cities, more than 50 MSF international staff are providing essential medical aid to the population inside Afghanistan. They are joined in their efforts by over 400 Afghan staff, many of whom kept MSF projects going in the two months that passed since the foreign staff had to leave.
Nov 28, 2001 MSF press release-
MSF returns to Kunduz and finds its clinic looted
A first team of MSF re-entered the city of Kunduz on November 27. The MSF team found the clinic empty of patients and looted.
Nov 16, 2001 MSF update-
Reunited with national staff,
MSF turns focus to Afghan people
With the surge of activity during the week of Nov 12-16, MSF provides an overview of the activites and MSF's immediate plans for activity. MSF is trying to expand its work with international staff to cover all Afghanistan. It is doing this completely independently of the warring parties and is seeking out those most in need in the chaos of displacement and conflict.
Nov 14, MSF press release -
MSF teams arrive in Mazar and Taloqan
Acting independently from the warring parties in Afghanistan, MSF teams have returned to continue medical work with the people most in need.
MSF press release, Nov 13, 2001 - MSF team returns to Kabul
On the morning of November 13, an MSF team of four managed to reach Kabul, through the Panshir Valley. The team is carrying out an evaluation of the population's needs in Kabul.
MSF press release, Nov 12, 2001 - MSF opposes relocation of refugees from Jalozai camp
Nov 12, Pakistan/Afghanistan - "We absolutely fail to see any compelling reason for transporting tens of thousands (of refugees) to a region that is isolated from everything except warfare," says Tim Pitt, Head of Mission in Pakistan for MSF. MSF will seek to honour its commitment to the people of Jalozai camp in new locations, but does so only under serious protest against an "utterly inhumane policy and practice."
Nov 9, 2001 - MSF press release MSF returns to Taleban held areas inside Afghanistan
MSF, in cooperation with the Iranian Red Crescent society, has opened medical programmes at two camps. There are currently 800 people in the camp at Mile 46, located in a zone controlled by the anti-Taleban forces, and nearly 8,000 in Makaki, located inside Taleban controlled territory.
Nov 7, 2001 - British Journal of General Practice: Afghanistan - humanitarian aid and military intervention don't mix
The threats of war ... has greatly increased the security risk for expatriate workers and forced the majority of aid agencies to withdraw. The airstrikes ... chronic lack of aid, and the onset of winter will only magnify the humanitarian catastrophe.
November 6, 2001 - From an article first published in The Lancet: Chaos in Afghanistan: famine, aid, and bombs
Before Sept 11, everything pointed to a worsening humanitarian situation in Afghanistan. The air strikes, lack of aid, and onset of winter will only magnify this catastrophe. The food drops that accompanied the US air strikes will have done little to help alleviate the food crisis. Airdrops are the least effective way of delivering aid - untargeted and unmonitored aid rarely reaches those who need it most - and the amount of food dropped was insufficient. More seriously, this act has damaged the effectiveness of humanitarian aid.
Interviews with MSF
staff from Afghanistan
Afghanistan: An aid worker's tale: "The relief effort here is unique for me due to the political complexities of the situation. I am used to civil wars with militia and guerrilla and multi-ethnic groups, but this war is at a different level; it is something that few people have experienced."
Two MSF staffers who have been active in Afghanistan, talk about their experiences and MSF work in the country.
MSF report Oct 25 , 2001 -MSF begins operations with
Afghans at Pakistan border
MSF has started operations on the Pakistani side of the Chaman border dealing with the most vulnerable. The initial team consist of nine expats and MSF activities include medical screening, treatment and referral.
MSF briefs US Congress on
the humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan
As already stated by US officials, air drops of food by the US military, even if well-intentioned, are not the most effective means of meeting the enormous humanitarian needs of the Afghan people.
Afghanistan's hidden war
An awareness campaign.
In August this year, a collection of international humanitarian organisations, including MSF, laucned an awareness campaign on Afghanistan. The campaigns denounced the medieval dictatorship of the Taliban, the discrimination aganist women and the destruction of Afghanistan's cultural heritage. They have also called upon western governments to increase the amount of aid they provide to the Afghan people.
To learn more about the issues surrounding refugees and the work MSF is doing in the area, visit the Refugees and IDPs section of this website.
This index refers to current MSF activity in the Central Asia region of Afghanistan, Pakistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan in light of the developing situation.
Afghanistan: Civil war and drought compound immense humanitarian needs
Civil war and severe drought have continued to drain the life out of Afghanistan over the last year. By late spring 2001, the number of people taking refuge in neighboring countries had been pushed to 3.5 million, and displaced people inside the country numbered at least 700,000.
Tajikistan: Aid to health system in shambles
The break-up of the Soviet Union and the civil war and economic collapse that followed have left Tajikistan in a fragile situation. Today the health care system is in shambles; the country depends heavily on foreign aid, and ethnic tensions still surface despite a 1997 peace agreement.
Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan: "DOTS" for two million
MSF currently runs 12 programs in the two countries focusing on prevention and treatment of TB and other diseases, and conducts research into the effects of the environmental catastrophie on the health of people in the Aral Sea area.
