Afghan aid agencies run out of money

KABUL, Afghanistan -- As refugees flood home, U.N. relief agencies helping Afghans recover from nearly two decades of war are being forced to suspend or curtail relocation and feeding operations because money is running out, aid representatives warned Sunday.

Last week, the U.N. World Food Program said its food-delivery pipeline had been threatened by funding shortfalls. And on Sunday, the International Organization for Migration announced suspension of its transportation network to return refugees to their hometowns.

The reason cited was the same: Even though international donors are pouring hundreds of millions into building the new Afghanistan, the money is running out -- and fast.

"Overall, what is coming into this country is insufficient," said Nigel Fisher, the U.N.'s deputy special representative for relief, recovery and reconstruction in Afghanistan. "We still have an immediate humanitarian crisis facing us."

While aid agencies often urge donors to give more and warn of imminent shortfalls, the interruption of two major programs in a week suggests the situation is growing dire.

More than 840,000 Afghans have returned since March, all but 70,000 of them from Pakistan, according to Ragnhild Ek, a spokeswoman for the U.N. refugee agency.

The returns, a sign that Afghans abroad have growing confidence in their homeland's stability under a U.N.-brokered interim administration, places heavy burdens on international aid programs struggling to keep up.

The United Nations as a whole requested $1.8-billion for Afghanistan between October 2001 and December 2002. So far, its agencies have received $870-million -- 48 percent of its appeal, Fisher said. The $526-million received after the Afghan donor conference in Tokyo fell "well below aspirations," he said.

International donors in Tokyo committed $4.5-billion, and $1.8-billion is expected this year. Some $1.4-billion of that has already come in, Fisher said.

Iain Paterson, spokesman for the International Organization for Migration, said its internal transportation network, which arranges transit for Afghan refugees from Iran and internally displaced Afghans returning home, had been suspended indefinitely.

The program has provided transportation for 250,000 Afghans since February.

The U.N. World Food Program, meanwhile, warned it faces shortfalls of $123-million in food, or about 215,400 tons.

Surveys show that in northern Afghanistan, up to 90 percent of the population is considered "food vulnerable." In many areas, people are mortgaging land, leaving homes to find work, even giving girls away for early marriage so they don't have to feed them.

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