5 Sep 2012

AFGHANISTAN / HUMANITARIAN UPDATE

The UN Humanitarian Coordinator in Afghanistan, Michael Keating aims to use a 12-day trip to Europe and the United States to highlight to some of Afghanistan's key Western partners a funding shortfall of nearly 300 million US dollars in aid. His first stop today is London. UNAMA

Posted at: September 5, 2012 4:35 pm

Duration: 02:32

Available in: SD

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STORY: AFGHANISTAN / HUMANITARIAN UPDATE
TRT: 2.32
SOURCE: UNAMA
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH / NATS

DATELINE: 3 SEPTMEBER 2012, KABUL, AFGHANISTAN

SHOTLIST:

1. Wide shot, Michael Keating, United Nations Deputy Special Representative for Afghanistan
2. SOUNDBITE (English) Michael Keating, United Nations Deputy Special Representative for Afghanistan:
"I have three objectives. The first is to draw attention to the evolving landscape in Afghanistan after the series of meetings that have taken place this year – the Chicago meeting, the Tokyo meeting. What that means in terms of the partnership between the Afghans and the international community and the kind of challenges it places for the Afghans as well as for those in the international community who want to support Afghanistan. The second thing is to draw the attention to the humanitarian situation, not be alarmist, but make the point that Afghanistan has one of the largest number of people in need of humanitarian assistance in the world. And, the thirdly, is to discuss the role of the UN system itself in this changing, rapidly evolving environment."
3. Cutaway, Michael Keating in his office
4. SOUNDBITE (English) Michael Keating, United Nations Deputy Special Representative for Afghanistan:
"One of the major characteristics of the last year has been the very heavy winter, which resulted in floods all over the country, which has drawn attention to a deeper phenomenon, which is increasing number of disasters – drought, floods, avalanches, earthquakes. They have been more dramatic this year than in the past. But, this is part of a longer negative trend. So, that's one thing. The second thing is we have seen more internally displaced people being generated in the last year than we have in any year since 2001. That's also been quite a concern. The third thing is that the funding for humanitarian activities has remained stubbornly low. "
5. Cutaway, Michael Keating in his office
6. SOUNDBITE (English) Michael Keating, United Nations Deputy Special Representative for Afghanistan:
"No. I think we need to be alert to the possibility that international interest in Afghanistan will decline dramatically, but the omens are actually quite good. As I said, Chicago, Tokyo, many of Afghanistan's partners are being very clear that even if they withdraw their military presence, even if they have to disengage for domestic economic and political reasons, they will remain committed to supporting Afghanistan in the medium term at least, if not the long-term."
7. Cutaway, Michael Keating in his office

STORYLINE:

Interviewed prior to his departure from Kabul, Keating said his trip had three objectives. The first was to draw attention to the evolving landscape in Afghanistan after the series of meetings on Afghanistan (in Chicago and Tokyo among others) that had taken place this year, and what that meant in terms of the partnership between the Afghans and the international community, as well as for those in the international community who want to support Afghanistan.

In July an international conference on Afghanistan in Tokyo, brought together 70 countries and international organizations who committed US$ 16 billion for Afghanistan's economic and development sectors through 2015, and at a NATO Summit in May in Chicago, firm commitments were made to support the Afghan security forces.

Keating said that his second objective was to draw the attention of the international community to the fact that Afghanistan still has "one of the largest numbers of people in need of humanitarian assistance in the world". And, the third objective was to discuss the role of the UN family in "this changing, rapidly evolving environment".

One of the major characteristics of the last year, Keating said, had been first the heavy winter resulting in floods all over the country, which had drawn attention to a deeper phenomenon, which was the increasing number of disasters, drought, floods, avalanches, and earthquakes.

Keating also said was there had been more internally displaced people being generated in the last year than in any year since 2001.

At the same time, funding for humanitarian activities has remained "stubbornly low", Keating said.

Afghanistan ranks in the bottom ten per cent of the Human Development Index. More than one-third of the population lives below the poverty line. One in every two children under five is chronically malnourished. So far in 2012, about 300 natural disasters have struck the country affecting more than 200,000 people. In the past year, up to 600,000 people have been internally displaced, more than any other year since 2001.

The humanitarian community in Afghanistan had been disappointed over the poor response to a UN consolidated appeal called the "CAP" earlier this year for US$ 437 million for humanitarian preparedness and response in the country for 2012. Only 33 per cent, or about US$ 150 million, of the requested amount has been received in the eight months.

Responding to whether he saw a looming humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan Keating said, "no. I think we need to be alert to the possibility that international interest in Afghanistan will decline dramatically, but the omens are actually quite good. As I said, Chicago, Tokyo, many of Afghanistan's partners are being very clear that even if they withdraw their military presence, even if they have to disengage for domestic economic and political reasons, they will remain committed to supporting Afghanistan in the medium term at least, if not the long-term".