NEW DELHI: India has continued its humanitarian assistance for the people of Afghanistan, ranging from the supply of wheat to cope with an unprecedented food shortage to the provision of materials for drug rehabilitation camps run by the UN. An Afghan man walks in his drought-hit wheat field in Nahr-e-Shahi district in Balkh province of Afghanistan (REUTERS FILE)

The assistance, including medical and food aid, has been provided in view of the deteriorating humanitarian situation in Afghanistan and urgent appeals by UN agencies, people familiar with the matter said. The Indian government has partnered with the United Nations World Food Programme (UNWFP) for the internal distribution of wheat within Afghanistan.

Under this partnership, India has supplied a total of 47,500 metric tonnes of wheat as assistance to UNWFP centres across Afghanistan. While wheat was earlier sent to Afghanistan in trucks via Pakistan, through the Wagah-Attari land border crossing, recent shipments are being despatched through Iran’s Chabahar port and handed over to the UNWFP at Heart, the people said.

India’s contributions have been acknowledged by key stakeholders in Afghanistan, including UNWFP. “For the first half of this year, 16 million people in Afghanistan received life-saving food from WFP. We are grateful for generous donors like India who make that happen,” WFP Afghanistan said in a recent tweet.

The Indian side partnered with the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crimes (UNODC) in Afghanistan to provide humanitarian assistance for the welfare of Afghan drug users, especially women, the people said.

Under this partnership, India supplied 1,100 units of female hygiene kits, blankets and medical assistance to UNODC in Kabul. These items will be used by UNODC in their drug rehabilitation camps for women across Afghanistan. India will also be providing further medical assistance for these camps.

India has also supplied a range of medical aid, including nearly 200 tonnes of essential medicines, Covid-19 vaccines, anti-tuberculosis medicines and medical and surgical items such as paediatric stethoscopes, mobile sphygmomanometers with paediatric blood pressure cuffs, infusion pumps, drip chamber sets, and nylon sutures.

The medical assistance was handed over to authorities at the Indira Gandhi Children’s Hospital in Kabul.

The Indian side has also continued its support for Habibia School in Kabul and sent assistance such as winter clothing and stationery for primary students.

The Indian government has allocated ₹200 crore for providing assistance to Afghanistan in the 2023-24 budget. However, the outlay was lower than the expenditure of ₹350 crore on aid for Afghanistan in the last fiscal.

This expenditure covered humanitarian aid provided in 2022 in the wake of the Taliban takeover of Kabul, including wheat, medicines and vaccines. The allocation for 2023-24 signalled the continuation of India’s special relationship with the Afghan people and the commitment to them, the people said.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR Rezaul H Laskar Rezaul H Laskar is the Foreign Affairs Editor at Hindustan Times. His interests include movies and music. ...view detail