4.7 million dollars aid from the Global Emergency Services Fund for the treatment of refugees returning to Afghanistan

Afghan Voice Agency (AVA) - Kabul: This organization said in a newsletter that this amount of money covers the 1.3 million Afghan returnees who are going to return to the country this year, and was provided by the United Nations Development Program (UNDP). 

 

Anneliese Hirschman, head of Global Fund's Asia department, says that the possible return of 1.3 million refugees to Afghanistan will increase the risk of infectious diseases spreading in Afghanistan, especially in rural and remote areas.

 

He added: "1.3 million refugees constitute more than three percent of the population of Afghanistan. "This increase represents an epidemiological risk, and AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria cannot be fought without strengthening essential services."

 

Meanwhile, Stephen Rodrigues, the representative of the United Nations Development Program in Afghanistan, has said that returnees from Pakistan are at risk of contracting malaria and dengue.

 

"We already have systems in place to address the immediate needs of returnees who are at risk of contracting AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria," Rodrigues noted.

 

According to him, this emergency budget of the Global Fund can help in reducing the risks caused by infectious diseases.

 

According to the statement of this international organization, more than 390,000 returnees are supposed to be relocated in provinces with high risk of malaria, including Laghman and Nangarhar, and at least 910,000 others in provinces with low risk of malaria, such as Kabul, Kunduz and other provinces.