Shocking: A Little Good News

As enjoyable as it is to write about human suffering and misery, sometimes it gives the impression that nothing ever quite succeeds – that the aid work is simply one long exercise in futility. (Cue cynics quoting Kipling.)

And then, every once in a while, good news emerges from the most unlikely of places. Case in point – aid agencies (and a mild winter) have helped prevent mass displacement in northern Afghanistan.

According to a recent IRIN article:

“Prompt distribution of food aid, improved coordination among aid agencies and a relatively mild winter have prevented mass displacements in the drought-stricken northern provinces of Afghanistan, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has said.

‘This year there was, in general, much better coordination between relevant government bodies and UN agencies, particularly with WFP [UN World Food Programme] as a key player. The other factor that really matters is that people in the areas most affected by drought are not facing such a harsh winter as last year,’ Dusan Vukotic, an ICRC official in Kabul, told IRIN.

Previously the ICRC had warned about large-scale displacements in the north. ‘Hundreds of thousands of Afghans may have to leave their homes this winter because of drought, insecurity and rising food prices,’ it warned in a press release in October 2008.

However, the ICRC's latest assessments in the four northern provinces of Balkh, Faryab, Kunduz and Badghis indicate ‘no major displacement’ has occurred thus far."

Also, fewer Ethiopians are going hungry than last year.

[Photo of northern Afghanistan from september11news.com]