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UN agency sets up fund to channel donor financing for Afghan Interim Authority

UN agency sets up fund to channel donor financing for Afghan Interim Authority

The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) today established a temporary fund to enable donors to provide financial support for the Interim Authority for Afghanistan during the next six months.

The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) today established a temporary fund to enable donors to provide financial support for the Interim Authority for Afghanistan during the next six months.

Donors can contribute immediately to the UN Afghan Interim Authority Fund, which will be used to cover administrative costs and essential rehabilitation of administrative facilities. The money will also go to support the implementation of special responsibilities as outlined in the Bonn Agreement, as well as teachers' salaries to ensure schools can re-open in March 2002.

Meanwhile a senior UN official in Islamabad said that the donor meeting held last week in Berlin would be followed up by another meeting in Tokyo next year.

Mike Sackett, UN Humanitarian Coordinator for Afghanistan, told a press briefing that the UN was tackling a complex emergency of "immense magnitude" that required strong efforts from the international community.

"In this connection a ministerial meeting will be held in Tokyo by the end of January, which may have a positive impact on further work in Afghanistan," he said.

The Berlin meeting of the Afghanistan Support Group (ASG) of donors reviewed critical issues such as the country's humanitarian and security situation, as well as the reconstruction process now under way, Mr. Sackett said, adding that an ongoing needs assessment would be ready by the middle of January.