UNHCR organised handover of Kazakhstan humanitarian assistance delivered to Afghanistan through Termez

On 15 December residents of Barmal district in Afghanistan’s Paktika Province received 2,000 household kits, including mattresses and clothing, sent by Kazakhstan in August 2022. Kazakhstan donated these items to UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, to provide humanitarian assistance to families affected by the earthquake in June 2022.

Humanitarian assistance was sent from Kazakhstan to Afghanistan through the Termez Regional Humanitarian Logistics Hub established by UNHCR in October 2021 with support from the Government of Uzbekistan. Located less than two kilometers from the Uzbekistan-Afghanistan border, the Termez hub in southern Uzbekistan is part of UNHCR’s global supply chain to secure timely delivery of humanitarian assistance to Afghanistan, neighbouring countries and beyond.

Household kits were handed over by the Ambassador of Kazakhstan to Afghanistan Alimkhan Yessengeldiyev. “On behalf of Kazakh people, it is a great honor for me to give you those tokens of our support at this difficult time,” said Ambassador Yessengeldiyev during the ceremony.

“We really appreciate this donation from Kazakhstan and we hope for the future, as this area is very cold and these things are very useful for us,” said a representative of the local community affected by the earthquake.

The June 2022 earthquake killed some 1,000 Afghans, including more than 300 children, and destroyed or damaged 70 per cent of the homes in the worst hit districts of Barmal, Giyan and Spera.