The American Express Foundation, Lucent Technologies Foundation, and Pfizer Inc. have each stepped forward to offer $25,000 in support of the International Rescue Committee’s urgent interventions to aid victims of the crisis in Afghanistan.
In recent weeks this rescue program drew world attention after the IRC discovered that thousands of starving villagers in north-central Afghanistan, victims of war and drought, were eating grass and roots to survive and that many had died from hunger or were severely malnourished.
Using teams of pack animals, the IRC and its local partners have delivered 3,000 metric tons of wheat, provided by the World Food Program, to the region.. Despite the heavy snow and freezing temperatures, IRC’s field coordinator Idrees Rahmani said the aid reached more than 23,000 people in the stricken Zareh area. "The food should sustain these communities for up to four months," he said.
The IRC’s immediate response to the dire circumstances in Afghanistan relies on the timely and constant support of a host of government and private donors. "This generous response by the IRC’s corporate supporters is vital to our ability to act quickly, to deploy resources immediately, and, ultimately, to save lives," noted Reynold Levy, president of the IRC. "These funds came at a critical time when needs are acute. I applaud these business leaders for demonstrating a tangible commitment to the humanitarian issues facing our world today."
The IRC is working with the International Red Cross to support a health clinic at Zareh village for the severely malnourished, and continues conducting relief operations in and around Mazar-i-Sharif, Herat, Kabul and Jalalabad, Afghanistan, and in the Shalma and Basu refugee camps in Pakistan. The IRC has been assisting Afghan refugees since 1980.
American Express Contact: Molly Faust (201) 209-5595
Lucent Technologies, Inc. Contact: Kara Witzal: (908) 582-6642
Pfizer Contact: Heather Lauver: (212) 733-3416
