Bangladesh sends emergency relief to Afghanistan

Bangladesh today (Tuesday) has sent a substantial amount of emergency relief in the form of dry food (biscuits, noodles and powdered milk) to the government of Afghanistan for the Afghan earthquake victims.

Over a thousand Afghans were killed, over 2000 seriously injured and thousands of homes completely destroyed in a strong earthquake that hit the eastern region of Afghanistan on 22 June. The earthquake has led to a humanitarian crisis with a severe shortage of food, water and shelter as well as emergency medical treatment, said a press release of the foreign ministry in Tuesday.

The relief is being sent from Bangladesh under supervision of the foreign ministry and with active participation and support of the armed forces. The relief goods will be transported by a special aircraft C-130 of the Bangladesh Air Force to Afghanistan and handed over to the Afghanistan government.

The relief goods to assist the earthquake-hit Afghan people in facing the disaster have been provided by the Armed Forced Division, the state-run Essential Drugs Company Ltd, Bangladesh Garments Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA), Pran-RFL Group and Akij Food and Beverage Ltd.

Bangladesh has historic ties with Afghanistan. During the 1971 liberation war, the Afghanistan government and people at the time facilitated the safe travel of Bangladeshis stranded in Pakistan, back home.

Given these historic ties and as well as the prime minister’s policy of integrated development, Bangladesh has already sent Tk 10 million from the relevant budget of the foreign ministry to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA) as assistance for the people of Afghanistan in the crisis emerging from the political changes there.