Food assistance in Afghanistan

Due to the 40+ years of conflict and political unrest, people were forced to flee from Afghanistan to Pakistan. These people struggled to live but worked hard and eventually returned to a more normal lifestyle. Some were born in refugee camps and have never lived in Afghanistan. The humanitarian crisis in Pakistan forced such people to return to Afghanistan. Afghanistan's economy has been devastated by various factors, including repeated natural disasters, the spread of the coronavirus, and economic sanctions that have been in place since the establishment of the Taliban interim government in 2021. With more than half of the population already facing severe food insecurity, living in Afghanistan with no support is undoubtedly difficult.

We would like to express our deepest gratitude for your support for people in this difficult situation.

Your generous supprt has helped us deliver food to returnees who have lost almost everything in their lives and supported them in taking the first step toward rebuilding their lives.

Keiko Kiyama, Secretary General)

[Distribution]

This project completed three days of hygiene education and distributed a two-month supply of food to four areas in the Nangarhar Province (located on the Pakistan border and in eastern Afghanistan), due to the large concentration of people returning from Pakistan. JEN, with the cooperation of community members, identified vulnerable households to prioritize the delivery of assistance to. Our staff traveled door-to-door to identify the households that met the defined criteria.

[Criteria]

Households that meet more than one of these criteria are given priority:

• Returnee households with pregnant or lactating mothers
• Returnee households headed by women, children, or persons with a disability or chronic illness
• Returnee households with 10 or more family members

[Current Situation in Afghanistan]

From September 2023 to April 2024, more than 557,000 people have voluntarily returned to Afghanistan, fearing arrest or deportation by the Pakistani government.

Various local and international organizations are providing support to the continuous flow of people returning to Afghanistan. JEN has found that people are awaiting assistance but are ineligible to receive it because of the time of their return.

Because of this, our project was able to provide aid to all vulnerable people by conducting surveys twice per area.

We will continue to provide support so that the local people, including those who have returned, can continue to lead independent lives.

[Income and Expenditure]

All your donations, after deducting expenses, were used for hygiene education and emergency food distribution. Donations and grants from other sources were also used for the implementation of the project.

(1) Hygiene Education:

Before distributing food packages, we provided sessions on how to hygienically handle and store food, and how to dispose of garbage. In addition, we informed participants about the importance of hand washing before eating and distributed one bar of soap per session so that participants could practice hand washing at home.

(2) Food Distribution:

We delivered food packages with two months' worth of food. Some of the recipients said they had not been able to eat for several days, expressing their gratitude for the support they received through JEN. We were able to ensure transparency in the implementation of the project by explaining the criteria used for identifying vulnerable households to the communities in which the project was implemented.

[Future commitment]

JEN has been working in Afghanistan since 2001.

Prior to the Taliban’s seizure of power in August 2021, Afghanistan had faced multiple crises such as 40+ years of conflict, severe droughts, natural disasters (e.g. flash floods and earthquakes), and socioeconomic consequences stemming from international sanctions, all which have exacerbated poverty. Afghanistan is still in a humanitarian crisis, and its people are particularly vulnerable.

JEN will continue to identify the needs of affected communities and provide them with necessary support.

We ask for your continued support.

              Certified NPO Japan Emergency NGO (JEN)