MAZAR - The International Day for Disaster Reduction (IDDR) was marked in Mazar-e-Sharif yesterday. Organized by a humanitarian NGO, Johanniter International, and supported by the United Nations, the day was celebrated in presence of over 200 participants including provincial Government officials, UN agencies, NGOs, civil society organizations and youth groups among others.

Afghanistan is geographically and naturally a disaster-prone territory. Every year many parts of the country are devastated by floods, landslides, while some parts suffer drought and the poor disaster mitigation measures in the remote areas that are difficult to access puts the lives of the people at risk.

Government officials and civil society representatives highlighted the humanitarian assistance of the UN and the wider international community, and called for people’s contribution in disaster prevention exercises.

“The disaster reduction method has been there in the villages for ages and the people should not just wait for someone to help them when a natural disaster hits their homes, they should rather work hard to save their homes and get help from the international community to strengthen their capability to prevent disasters,” said Zabiullah Akhteri, who represented the Balkh provincial Governor’s office.

The Afghan National Disaster Management Authority (ANDMA) was established in 2005 as a Governmental institution to help in risk mitigation and response operations. It works together with international humanitarian agencies, NGOs, UN and sometimes even business community who wish to contribute in assisting the vulnerable communities exposed to natural disasters.

Drought has been one of the most significant ones because it not only damages to the famers’ economy, but also causes huge displacement in the country, death of livestock, and lack of employment that can lead into insecurity.

Humanitarian assistance has been flowing to Afghanistan since many years but the local economy in most parts of the country depends on the harvest and generally on agriculture.

“We don’t want the Government to bring us water from Europe or the US. What we want is the Government and the international community to help us manage our water resources, because Afghanistan’s rural economy totally depends on agriculture and we need water,” said Sahib Kamal, a representative of the farmers from Dawlatabad district of Balkh province.

By UNAMA Mazar