Afghanistan Earthquake Response Hampered by US Aid Cuts, Says IRC Official

Earthquake Devastation in Afghanistan

• 🌍 An earthquake of magnitude 6.2 struck Nangarhar province and surrounding areas, including Kunar, Laghman, and Kabul.
• 💔 More than 800 people have been killed, with thousands more injured, and fears are rising that the death toll will increase.
• ⚠️ Access to remote and mountainous areas is severely hindered by ongoing rain, landslides, and panic.

Impact of US Foreign Aid Cuts

• 📉 The earthquake exacerbates an existing humanitarian crisis, worsened by the termination of over $1.7 billion in US foreign aid contracts.
• 💡 Prior to January 20th, 50% of the humanitarian response was funded by the United States, a crucial source of support that is now gone.
• 🚫 Humanitarian actors like the IRC face difficulties distributing essential medicines and supplies due to waiting for approval from the US government.

Response Coordination Under Taliban

• 🤝 The de facto authorities are working to coordinate efforts among various actors to ensure complementarity and avoid duplication in the response.
• 🗓️ Coordination meetings are being held, with a significant portion of the response expected to commence fully on the following day.
• ⚠️ Despite coordination, the available resources are stretched thin, and it's unlikely that all needs will be met.

Challenges in Aid Delivery

• ⛰️ The affected region is mountainous and difficult to navigate, especially with adverse weather conditions.
• 🚗 Reaching some impacted communities can take 2-3 hours by car, and much longer on foot.
• ✈️ While airlift capacity has been used for critical cases, it is not a viable option for many in remote locations.

Comparison to Previous Disasters

• 📈 The scale of the current crisis is significant, with figures from the UN indicating 800 deaths and 12,000 people heavily impacted.
• ⚖️ The resources available for this response are considerably less than those during the October 2023 Herat earthquake, impacting the ability to respond at scale and speed.