Upcoming Round Table Discussion Winter in Afghanistan: Lessons, Challenges, and Plans of Humanitarian Aid

 

Background

Winter has come in the Northern Hemisphere. Afghanistan, facing with ongoing humanitarian crisis, will go through an extremely hard time under the harsh temperature. Last winter, due to the drought, conflict and economic crisis, around 23 million Afghan people - half the population - were food insecure, with 8.7 million people even at risk of starvation to death; at the same time, more than 70,000 internal displaced people were lack of proper heating.

 

This year, according to UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA)’s Afghanistan: ICCT Winter Prioritisation report, food insecurity, shelter and heating insufficiency remain critical. With prices soaring and jobs vanishing, World Food Programme (WFP) estimates that millions of families seem to have no way to manage through another harsh winter. What did organizations do last winter to help Afghan people pull through and what are the lessons learnt? What new challenges will Afghan people as well as humanitarian workers face this winter? And what are the plans of humanitarian aid to mitigate the foreseeable risks?

 

To better prepare the organizations to cope with winter crisis in Afghanistan this year, we hold this discussion to share experience and practice, as well as make possible humanitarian assistance plans for this winter.

 

Objectives

  1. To share experience and lessons learnt from the humanitarian aid in Afghanistan in winter;
  2. To discuss actions and challenges of Afghan people and humanitarian assistance in winter.

 

Key Questions

  1. What are the practices and lessons learnt during last winter’s humanitarian assistance in Afghanistan?
  2. What are the possible challenges of Afghanistan this winter?
  3. What can organizations do today to prepare for the winter crisis?

 

Speaker’s Introduction

 

Dr. Nooralhaq Nasimi came to the UK in 1999 as a refugee from Afghanistan. He founded ACAA in 2000 to help support refugees like himself in their integration and empowerment in British society. With ACAA having experienced increased demands for providing assistance with the crisis that unfolded in Afghanistan in August 2021, he has guided a dedicated team of staff members and volunteers in supporting recent arrivals to the UK and advocating for human rights in Afghanistan.

 

Shahin Ashraf is the Head of Global Advocacy for Islamic Relief Worldwide. With over 25 years of experience in the sector, her expertise lies in faith and development and the intersection of gender, social inclusion and social protection, including first-hand experience of working with women in humanitarian and development contexts. Prior to joining Islamic Relief Worldwide Shahin served at a senior level at a women’s rights organisation where she conducted a wide range of policy research projects.

 

 

Mr. Hamid Gholami is one of the founders of the Afghan Silk Road Research Organization. From December 2021, our organization signed an agreement with the Beijing One Heart Sphere Charity Foundation to provide humanitarian assistance to impoverished families in Afghanistan. It has been a year focusing on welfare, treatment, emergency assistance and more for poor families in Afghanistan. Mr. Gholami is also the head of the Chinese Department of Kabul University, the executive director of the Confucius Institute at Kabul University.

 

 

Ms. Qiu Lili is one of the founders of Peaceland Foundation. She is also a founder of Beijing Angel Mother Charity Foundation and Beijing Red Cross Blue Sky Rescue Team. For more than ten years, she has been focusing on the fields of child welfare, medical care, emergency rescue, and has founded or participated in many social organizations in these fields.

 

（In no particular order）

 

Time and Format

This event will take place online at 9:00-11:00 A.M., on 14th December 2022 (CET Time).

This event is a small round table event, the event information will only be circled among the targeted audience so that the participants can have a deep discussion on how to better provide winter assistance in Afghanistan.

 

Language

English

 

Targeted Audience

  1. Organizations which are providing humanitarian assistance in Afghanistan;
  2. Organizations which are planning to conduct humanitarian assistance this winter in Afghanistan;
  3. Organizations which are interested in humanitarian assistance in Afghanistan.

 

About the Host

Peaceland Foundation is a Chinese non-profit organization responding to global humanitarian crises and environmental challenges. Since 2021, Peaceland Foundation has carried out humanitarian actions in Afghanistan including emergent material aid, cultural heritage preservation and disaster relief. In September, Peaceland has organized a round table discussion “Chinese NGOs’ Humanitarian Assistance in Afghanistan-Practices and Challenges”. The attending guests shared their humanitarian assistance experiences in Afghanistan which has received positive response from all parties involved.

 

For any questions or inquiries, please contact peaceland.geneva@gmail.com or Geneva@peaceland.org.cn