Bahrain's RHF to distribute relief aid for earthquake-affected Afghans

Kabul [Afghanistan], July 18 (ANI): The Royal Humanitarian Foundation (RHF) of Bahrain has entered into an agreement with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) to distribute relief aid to support people in Afghanistan affected by the recent earthquake.
"Under the deal, an RHF delegation will pay a visit to the quake-stricken regions in Afghanistan and distribute relief aid to people," TOLO News reported citing local media.
Earlier, the State Ministry of Disaster Management stated that over 10 countries have provided relief support to the people affected by the earthquake.
"The Islamic Emirate is working on a plan to provide the people with permanent shelter," Ministry Spokesman Mohammad Naseem Haqqani said.
"The main challenge is the shelter issue of our countrymen amid warm weather and coming cold," local media reported quoting Abdul Latif Nazari, the deputy Minister of Economy.
Meanwhile, several economists said that they are ensuring a transparent aid distribution process takes effect.
"If the government and other people in the community monitor the aid accurately, I think it will be effective," an economist Shabeer Basheer said.
"The international community's pledge to provide aid to the earthquake-affected people in Afghanistan is good news but it will be more effective when the aid has arrived in the country," another economist Darya Khan said.
On June 22, a 5.9-magnitude earthquake jolted parts of Afghanistan including the capital city Kabul killing over 1,000 people across Barmal and Giyan districts in Paktika province and Spera district in Khost province.
In addition, at least 1,455 people were injured across three of the six most-affected districts of Barmal, Giyan, and Spera - many of them seriously. Over 10,000 houses were destroyed.
The United Nations has allocated USD 10 million from the UN Central Emergency Response Funds (UNCERF) on Sunday to support the people of Afghanistan affected by the earthquake that struck in the eastern part of the country.
In wake of this, India also handed over the first consignment of relief assistance on June 23 to support the Afghan nationals affected by the earthquake.
The relief assistance handed over by the Ministry of External Affairs Joint Secretary (PAI), JP Singh consisted of essential items including family ridge tents, sleeping bags, blankets, sleeping mats, etc to support the people of Afghanistan in quake-affected regions.
India also deployed a team to the Embassy in Kabul to coordinate the efforts of stakeholders for the delivery of humanitarian aid.
Earlier, the European Commission also announced 1 million euros in humanitarian funding for an estimated 270,000 people living in the affected areas requiring emergency assistance.
Immediate humanitarian assistance was dispatched to affected areas on June 22, including 10 tons of medical supplies sufficient for 5,400 surgeries and medical treatments covering 36,000 people for three months by WHO. (ANI)