{"id":4202,"date":"2020-04-12T20:23:45","date_gmt":"2020-04-12T15:53:45","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.epd-afg.org\/?p=4202"},"modified":"2020-04-12T20:23:45","modified_gmt":"2020-04-12T15:53:45","slug":"afghanistan-must-not-be-left-behind-as-it-braces-for-the-coronavirus-pandemic-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.epd-afg.org\/?p=4202","title":{"rendered":"Afghanistan must not be left behind as it braces for the Coronavirus pandemic"},"content":{"rendered":"<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.epd-afg.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/Afghanistan-1.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft wp-image-4189\" src=\"http:\/\/www.epd-afg.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/Afghanistan-1-1000x525.jpg\" alt=\"Afghanistan 1\" width=\"420\" height=\"221\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.epd-afg.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/Afghanistan-1-1000x525.jpg 1000w, https:\/\/www.epd-afg.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/Afghanistan-1-768x403.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.epd-afg.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/Afghanistan-1-624x328.jpg 624w, https:\/\/www.epd-afg.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/Afghanistan-1.jpg 1200w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 420px) 100vw, 420px\" \/><\/a><span style=\"color: #000000;\">To ensure that humanitarian aid is able to reach the most vulnerable people in Afghanistan, we reaffirm the United Nations&#8217; call for a humanitarian ceasefire and urge Secretary Pompeo, European, NATO, P5 leaders to support this initiative by the UN and furthermore, call upon all parties in the conflict in Afghanistan to:\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Agree to a full and immediate humanitarian ceasefire. The pandemic will not wait for intraAfghan negotiations to agree to a comprehensive ceasefire;\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Boost immediate preparedness and response operations for a) Water, Sanitation and Hygiene activities to prevent the spread; and b) medical supplies and health infrastructure to contain the virus;<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Take proactive steps to ensure that emergency measures do not compromise the space for human rights, women\u2019s rights, refugee protection laws and norms, and the space for independent civil society to operate in safety.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">The world is facing an unprecedented crisis. Covid19 has claimed thousands of lives and the number increases daily. This pandemic requires a global response, and one that ensures that no country is left behind. Covid19 will not be stopped by borders, nationality, ethnicity, faction or faith and we must respond to it together. <\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">International allies are understandably pre-occupied with their own national emergencies at this time, but the situation in Afghanistan threatens to rapidly become one of the worst affected countries, intensifying this global public health crisis. Afghanistan already has one of the most at-risk populations in the world. The <a style=\"color: #000000;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.state.gov\/on-the-political-impasse-in-afghanistan\/\">recent announcement<\/a> by the US State Department to cut $1 Billion worth of aid raises serious risks at a moment of heightened fragility. This cut could have major humanitarian implications, as any drop in funding to institutions and services would reduce the country\u2019s ability to treat patients and contain and control the virus in Afghanistan and beyond.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">The international community has a critical role to play in preventing deaths on a huge scale. This global crisis can only be addressed in Afghanistan if all sides to the conflict agree to a full and immediate humanitarian ceasefire. We must support the call by UN Secretary General Ant\u00f3nio Guterres for a global ceasefire. <\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">An outbreak of Covid19 in Afghanistan will be devastating as the country now faces multiple crises: a<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">fragile peace process, escalating conflict, weakened international support, and now Covid19.\u00a0 While official numbers of infection remain low, likely due to a lack of testing, the Afghan Health Minister has warned that up to 80% of the population will be infected, with little capacity or provisions to support or treat the sick.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">In recent weeks, at least <a style=\"color: #000000;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2020\/03\/26\/world\/asia\/afghanistan-iran-coronavirus.html\">115,000<\/a> Afghans have crossed the border from Iran. Without robust control and containment mechanisms at border crossings, combined with limited medical provisions, the number of cases across the country will soon spike. <\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Access to health care in Afghanistan is significantly compromised due to violence and insecurity, and its public health system remains weak: with many facilities facing chronic shortages of medicines, equipment and doctors. On average, just $8 per capita per year is spent on health care in the country. Health facilities and practitioners have regularly been targeted throughout the conflict. <a style=\"color: #000000;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.latimes.com\/world-nation\/story\/2020-04-08\/afghan-official-taliban-kill-7-civilians-in-countrys-north\">Escalating<\/a> <a style=\"color: #000000;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.latimes.com\/world-nation\/story\/2020-04-08\/afghan-official-taliban-kill-7-civilians-in-countrys-north\">violence<\/a> now threatens to add to the strain, making it even more difficult for those in need to access life-saving services. <\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">We are all in this together. A global response to battle this pandemic must include the citizens of the most vulnerable countries in the world. This is the only way to protect our collective public health. <\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Afghan Association of London, UK<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Afghan Cultural Centre, Austria<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Afghan Diaspora Network, Norway<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Afghan NGOs Coordination Bureau, Afghanistan\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Afghan Professionals Network, UK\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Afghan Students Association, Switzerland<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Afghan Voice Radio, UK<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Afghan Women Skills Development Centre (AWSDC), Afghanistan<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Afghan Women&#8217;s Education Centre (AWEC), Afghanistan\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Afghan Women&#8217;s Network (AWN), Afghanistan<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Afghan Youth Association, UK<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Afghanistan Civil Society Forum (ACSFo), Afghanistan\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission (AIHRC), Afghanistan\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Afghanistan Institute for Civil Society (AICS), Afghanistan\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Afghanistan Youth Greens (AYG), Afghanistan\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Alliance for Peacebuilding, International\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Arman Basharat Cultural and Service Institute, Afghanistan\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">British &amp; Irish Agencies Afghanistan Group (BAAG), UK<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Canadian Women for Women in Afghanistan, Canada\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">CARE, International\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Centre for Civilians in Conflict (CIVIC), US\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Centre for Peace and Conflict Studies, Cambodia\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">CINEP \/ Peace Program, Colombia\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Civil Society Working Committee (CSWC), Afghanistan\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Conciliation Resources, UK\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Danner Afghanistan Women Empowerment Organization, Afghanistan<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Dialogue Solutions, Trinidad and Tobago\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Dr Sima Samar, Minister of Human Rights and International Affairs, Afghanistan<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Dynamique Citoyenne, Cameroon\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Equality for Peace and Development (EPD), Afghanistan\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">General Muslima Amani Deputy Director, Passport Office, Afghanistan<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">General Nafisa Neekmanish, Head of Security Department Herat, Afghanistan\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Georgetown Institute for Women, Peace and Security, US\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Global Legal Action Network (GLAN), UK\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Global Witness, International<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Gulalai Akbari MP, Afghanistan<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Gurdwara Guru Nanak Darbar, UK<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Help Refugees, International<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Homa Ahmadi MP, Afghanistan<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Human Rights 360, International<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">ICAN, International<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Intercultural Development Centre, Austria<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Labour Friends of Afghanistan, UK<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Madre, International<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Mercy Corps, International<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Mother of Hope, Cameroon\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC)<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Organisation for Social and Economic Development, Helmand, Afghanistan<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Oxfam International\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">PATH Organization, Afghanistan\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Peace Museum Vienna, Austria<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Refugee Trauma Initiative (RTI), Greece<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Rockefeller Brothers Fund (RBF), International\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Roshanai Social Service Organisation (RSSO), Afghanistan<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Search for Common Ground, International\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">South Western Afghanistan and Baluchistan Agency for Coordination, Afghanistan<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">The European Afghan Women&#8217;s Gathering, Europe<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">The Farkhunda Trust, UK<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">The Folke Bernadotte Academy (FBA), Sweden\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">The Friends Committee on National Legislation, US\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">The Khaled Hosseini Foundation, International<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Training Human Rights Association, Afghanistan<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Universal Peace Federation, Austria<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Vienna Institute for International Dialogue and Cooperation, Austria<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Women and Children&#8217;s Legal Research Foundation, Afghanistan<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Women Cross DMZ, International\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Women for Justice Organisation, Afghanistan<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Women for Peace and Participation, International<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Women Mediators Across the Commonwealth (WMC), International\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Women&#8217;s Capacity and Development Organisation (WCBDO), Afghanistan<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Women&#8217;s Regional Network, South Asia\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>To ensure that humanitarian aid is able to reach the most vulnerable people in Afghanistan, we reaffirm the United Nations&#8217; call for a humanitarian ceasefire and urge Secretary Pompeo, European, NATO, P5 leaders to support this initiative by the UN and furthermore, call upon all parties in the conflict in Afghanistan to: <\/p>\n<p>Agree to a full and immediate humanitarian ceasefire. The pandemic will not wait for intraAfghan negotiations to agree to a comprehensive ceasefire;<br \/>\nBoost immediate preparedness and response operations for<a href=\"afghanistan-must-not-be-left-behind-as-it-braces-for-the-coronavirus-pandemic-2\"> Read More&#8230;<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4191,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4202","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.epd-afg.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4202","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.epd-afg.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.epd-afg.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.epd-afg.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.epd-afg.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=4202"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.epd-afg.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4202\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4203,"href":"https:\/\/www.epd-afg.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4202\/revisions\/4203"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.epd-afg.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/4191"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.epd-afg.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=4202"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.epd-afg.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=4202"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.epd-afg.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=4202"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}