The escalating fighting and political developments of the past year have significantly affected the provision of humanitarian assistance to several parts of the country and aggravated existing needs. These displaced persons increase pressures on the local populations who are already facing difficult living conditions. In addition, concern has been expressed by the United Nations and the international donor community that continued fighting and political instability have limited their ability to implement ongoing programmes. By contrast, in more stable areas, almost four million Afghans who had fled their country have returned in recent years and are working to rebuild their livelihoods. In certain parts of the country, children have been immunized, mines have been cleared, and widows and the disabled have received loans to start small businesses.
Relief organizations continue to provide assistance in many communities.
United Nations agencies hope that local authorities will encourage persons displaced from these more stable regions to return home, particularly ethnic Tajiks who were displaced from the Shomali Valley north of Kabul. In the southern provinces of Ghazni, Helmand, Kandahar, Nimruz, Oruzgan and Zabol, the cessation of fighting and the establishment of local authority by the Taliban have restored a measure of security. On the other hand, Taliban policies, especially restrictions on the employment of local female staff in humanitarian projects and limits on access to female beneficiaries have created additional complications for the implementation of humanitarian assistance programmes. Despite the changing military and political landscape in 1996 and reduced funding from the international community, United Nations agencies, ICRC and a large number of NGOs have continued to assist vulnerable Afghan groups. In the cities, particularly Kabul, food aid, shelter materials and medical assistance are provided primarily to female headed households, widows, the disabled and the elderly.