IOM, together with the Afghan government, has launched a nationwide
water and sanitation initiative designed to support communities
hosting returnees from Pakistan and Iran.

The launch follows the signing of a tripartite agreement between
IOM, the Ministry of Rural Rehabilitation and Development (MRRD)
and the Ministry of Finance (MoF) last week to provide water and
sanitation facilities in areas with high numbers of
returnees. 

IOM with financial support from Japan will help local
authorities provide a total of 114 water points and 342 latrines,
benefiting some 20,000 people in Herat, Farah, Nimroz, Kunduz,
Bamyan, Kabul and Nangarhar provinces.

"The large scale return of Afghans has stretched to breaking
point the capacity of local authorities to deliver basic services,
especially clean water," said IOM Afghanistan Chief of Mission
Robbie Thomson. "More than 560,000 Afghans have either voluntarily
returned or been deported this year alone. The communities they are
returning to need help to absorb them," Thomson added.

The agreement was signed as part of IOM's Socio-Economic
Reintegration of Afghans Returning from Iran and Pakistan (RARIP)
programme. Funded by the Japanese government, the programme aims to
promote population stabilization through community-based
activities.

For further information, please contact:

Monica Sandri

IOM Kabul

Tel + 93 (0) 796 568729

E-mail: "mailto:msandri@iom.int">msandri@iom.int

or

Katsui Kaya

Tel +93 (0) 700 185961

E-mail: "mailto:kkaya@iom.int">kkaya@iom.int