March 09

In Afghanistan life expectancy is just 45 years and one in every five Afghan child dies before the age of five. This is one of the poorest countries in the world where up to five million people are struggling to meet their very first needs. Over a million children and more than 500,000 women are risking their lives because of malnutrition.

In July 2008, the United Nations launched its Joint Emergency Appeal for Afghanistan, asking for $404m. As of Jan 31 '09 the fund stood at just $201ms.

In a recent memo sent to President Obama, Oxfam - the International charity organisation which has worked in Afghanistan for over 20 years - has expressed its concerns about a recent critical juncture in this country where conditions could deteriorate further unless the United States take action in addressing failures in governance, aid and reconstruction, and protecting civilians.

In the memo, Oxfam outlined ten essential steps to change the course in Afghanistan calling for a better humanitarian response to the crisis, major improvements in aid effectiveness, increased support for agriculture and the rural economy, action on peace-building, regional cooperation, governance reform, and new measures to protect civilians.

More about Oxfam on http://www.oxfam.org/en/about/history

 

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