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Flood of Afghan Refugees Overwhelms U.N. Budget
Monday, July 22, 2002
By Dusan Stojanovic
Associated Press Writer

"UNHCR has been forced to reduce the [number] of shelter kits it planned to distribute to needy Afghan families from 97,000 to 50,000. Financial constraints and the fact that refugee returns have exceeded expectations also mean that UNHCR lacks funds to undertake future purchases of items like plastic sheeting, blankets, water buckets."

KABUL, Afghanistan -- AP
More than 1.3 million refugees have returned to Afghanistan --- more than three times the number expected --- forcing the United Nations to cut aid programs because of the shortage of funds, a U.N. official said Sunday.

Maki Shinohara, a spokeswoman for the U.N. High Commission for Refugees, said the dramatic flow of returning refugees, one of the largest in the history, has "sapped UNHCR's $271 million budget for Afghanistan."

Shinohara said the agency lacks about $65 million to get through the end of the year, and cash contributions are urgently needed.

She said the agency has refocused its operations on four priority areas: protection of refugees; travel assistance; giving them basic supplies until they are able to provide for themselves; and housing and water.
(More: The Atlanta Journal-Constitution News Source)
2002 © The Associated Press.

Dan