A virtual meeting was hosted between H.E. Director General Prof. Yerlan Baidaulet from IOFS and UNAMA Deputy SRSG/ Resident Coordinator and Humanitarian Coordinator Dr. Ramiz Alakbarov. H.E. Yerlan Baidaulet congratulated Ms. Roza Otunbayeva of Kyrgyzstan on her appointment as Special Representative for Afghanistan and Head of UNAMA, and expressed confidence, that under her leadership, the unanimous mission of providing assistance to the people of Afghanistan will be achieved.
IOFS shared a presentation on the Organization’s Afghanistan Food Security Program. The fact that Afghanistan’s food crisis reached unprecedented levels, 55% of population are highly food insecure, due to prolonged drought, conflict and economic collapse, was highlighted. The dire situation of extreme food insecurity in Afghanistan led all OIC Member Countries join efforts to provide immediate help to the people of the country. The IOFS emphasized that it holds the global mandate and has the authority to establish a humanitarian field office, that will be empowered by all necessary legal, financial and administrative competences in its operations.
Next, the Director General of IOFS shared the implementation aspects of the Afghanistan Food Security Program and expressed hopes for cooperating with UNAMA, particularly in the the four immediate response projects for the Humanitarian Relief Program for Afghanistan:
- Supply of Wheat Flour to Afghanistan
- IOFS-ICIC Partnership for Afghanistan Emergency Food Support
- Model Case for Cereals Cultivation and Flour Production
- Drinking Water Cleaning for rural areas.
IOFS highlighted that it has been encouraging members of international donors, the UN fund and programs, as well as other international actors to coordinate work in providing humanitarian assistance to Afghanistan. The IOFS Director General, also shared that he led a delegation that included Ambassador Daulet Tazabekuly Yemberdiyev, Director of Cooperation & Humanitarian Aid Office and Mr. Abdula Manafi Mutualo, Senior Liaison Officer, for a humanitarian official visit to the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan on 16-19 April 2022.
During the visit, the IOFS elaborated that it implemented one of its immediate response projects by entering in a partnership with Bondh-E-Shams Company to obtain six (06) Oasis Water Cleaning Boxes, and signed an MoU with World Food Program (WFP) Afghanistan on humanitarian joint activities to help the country. The IOFS also underscored that it was the first OIC Institution to implement a tangible humanitarian project through the Oasis Boxes.
The IOFS invited UNAMA to take part in the Conference on the Implementation of the Afghanistan Food Security Program to take place on 14 November 2022 in a virtual format. In response, UNAMA DSRSG Dr. Ramiz Alakbarov expressed support for all the initiatives of IOFS in the Afghanistan Food Security Program. Both IOFS and UNAMA agreed to exchange information and stated that they would review areas of coordinating partnership to achieve their common goal in Afghanistan.
