1,000 destitute families receive cash aid in N. Afghanistan

FAIZABAD, Afghanistan, Nov. 19 (Xinhua) — A total of 1,000 needy families received cash assistance, with each family given 30,000 afghani (approximately 445 U.S. dollars) on Tuesday, provincial director of the Afghan Red Crescent Society Mohammad Eisa Jahid said.
According to the official, 30 million afghani (about 445,000 U.S. dollars) provided by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) was distributed to the 1,000 needy people, including widows and orphaned families, in the provincial capital of Faizabad and its vicinity.
The official also noted that efforts are underway to get humanitarian assistance and help needy families elsewhere in the province.
A United Nations report released by the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) in August claimed that 23.7 million people in Afghanistan, or almost half of the country’s population, need humanitarian aid with 48 percent living under the poverty line. ■