ENI—The most severe drought in a decade is fuelling a food crisis in Afghanistan that now threatens millions of people, church-linked humanitarian agencies have warned.
Action by Churches Together, a global humanitarian alliance endorsed by the Presbyterian Church in Canada, warned that a US$1.26 million ACT appeal was severely underfunded, and had received less than three per cent of the requested amount.
“Funding for this emergency remains a significant challenge,” said ACT director John Nduna. “What are we saying, when only high profile emergencies receive our support?”
“Generally speaking, the majority of ACT appeals are underfunded,” said Colleen McCue, coordinator for finance and administration at Presbyterian World Service and Development. “The numbers do not tell the whole story. There is a significant amount of work that ACT members are engaged in in Afghanistan but not necessarily through ACT.”
PWS&D, the national mission agency of the Presbyterian Church in Canada, supports two initiatives in Afghanistan: a food security project run through the Canadian Foodgrains Bank and an education project for girls in partnership with Church World Service.
