JALALABAD - Government officials from Afghanistan’s eastern province of Nuristan appealed to the international community yesterday to increase their assistance to the secluded province, where very few aid organizations have their operation.

Speaking at a meeting hosted by the eastern regional office of UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) in Jalalabad, the Nuristan Provincial Governor, Tamim Nuristani said despite security challenges in some districts the situation is quite stable in the rest of the province where aid agencies can operate without trouble.

“Donors should pay more attention and allocate more resources to the province,” said Mr. Nuristani. “We will extend full support to facilitate work of the aid community.”

According to the 2013 Common Humanitarian Action Plan (CHAP) for Afghanistan launched on 26 January by the United Nations and its humanitarian partners, Nuristan – together with Nimroz, Paktika and Zabul – has the least number of humanitarian actors present and is considered one of the provinces needing more attention.

“This could be due to factors including access constraints, actors with large projects covering needs, or lower needs,” said the CHAP. Some of the UN agencies – the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF), World Food Programme (WFP), World Health Organization (WHO) and Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) – have their operation in the province.

The CHAP has appealed for US$ 471 million to meet the growing humanitarian challenges of Afghanistan in 2013.

Also speaking at the meeting in the eastern regional hub of Jalalabad, which was attended by participants from UN aid agencies, NGOs, lawmakers and officials representing the province, UNAMA head for the region, Heran Song, said the purpose of the meeting was to discuss better coordination of aid activities, plans for 2013, and an increased mobilization of aid organizations in the province.

By UNAMA Jalalabad