Afghan gov't, UNHCR launch winter relief program

A winter relief program was launched Tuesday by the Afghan Ministry of Refugees and Repatriation and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), providing relief supplies to vulnerable Afghans to cope with the harsh winter. "Winter is often the worst time of a year for the vulnerable displaced Afghan families. But once again, UNHCR and its partners are delivering winter supplies to help these families, whether returning refugees or internally displaced, face the freezing temperatures," said a UNHCR press release obtained by Xinhua. "As part of a coordinated response, together with the Afghan authorities and other aid agencies, UNHCR will help around 34,500 Afghan families or more than 200,000 individuals with blankets, plastic sheets, fuel, and warm clothes such as sweaters, shawls, gloves, socks and waterproof shoes to stay warm and dry," it said. The UN refugee agency said it has already purchased and pre- positioned winter supplies for a countrywide distribution, which include over 207,000 blankets and 69,000 plastic sheets, together with 34,500 packages of warm clothing, and fuel (gas, charcoal, coal and firewood). According to the press release, UNHCR has helped around 4.6 million Afghan refugees voluntarily return home since the fall of the Taliban government in 2001, but nearly 3 million registered Afghan refugees are still living in exile today in Pakistan and Iran. "The beneficiaries of our winter aid this year are a mix of the poorer recent returnees and internally displaced people, as well as others at particular risk in the chilly winter weather," UNHCR spokesman Nadir Farhad told Xinhua. The government of Afghanistan is now engaged, together with UNHCR and involving its neighbours Iran and Pakistan, to develop a multi-year solutions strategy for Afghan refugees. The strategy will be presented to the international community at a conference in April 2012, said a statement. "This joint UNHCR-MoRR winter assistance programme is vital for returnees and internally displaced persons (IDPs) who are at particular risk during the cold winter months here in Afghanistan, " Afghan Minister of Refugees and Repatriation Jamaher Anwary said in the statement. Although there is no official statistics, it is believed that some 9 million Afghans live under poverty line and rely on only one U.S. dollar daily income in the insurgency-hit country.