Emergency Assistance to Afghan Refugees (assistance for Japanese NGOs)

March 22, 2002

1. On March 22 (Fri), the Government of Japan decided to extend emergency grant aid of approximately 98 million yen in total to assist Japanese Non Governmental Organizations (NGOs) which are supporting Afghan refugees in the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. This emergency assistance is extended in response to the application from two Japanese NGOs conducting medical support activities to Afghan refugees in Peshawar and Quetta.

2. The projects of the Japanese NGOs to be covered by this grant aid and the amount of assistance for each project are as follows:

   (1) Emergency medical assistance project for Afghan refugees around Quetta (operated by the Association of Medical Doctors of Asia (AMDA))
   - approximately 38 million yen

   (2) Medical Support for Afghan refugees in Peshawar (operated by the Japan International Friendship and Welfare Foundation)
   - approximately 60 million yen
   
   

3. Because of the long civil war, recent drought, and battles related to last year's terrorist attacks in the US, numerous refugees fled to Pakistan. Most of them are forced to live in appallingly poor conditions, and thus the improvement of their living conditions is an urgent task from a humanitarian viewpoint. This assistance aims at providing financial assistance necessary for Japanese NGOs conducting medical support activities for refugees living in such conditions.

Related Information (Japan-Afghanistan Relations)