This scenario has left 350,000 Afghans struggling to survive in the camp of Maslakh. The Guardian, a newspaper in Britain reports that 100 people die each day due to exposure and starvation.

The American organization, Agency for International Development (USAID) feels that due to the donations by international organizations and nongovernmental organizations (NGO) "widespread famine" might have been "averted."

The Administrator of the agency, Andrew Natsios said that 116,000 tons of food was delivered to Afghanistan during the month of December. The program of delivering food aid started in September 2001. The amount of food being donated has doubled every month since the program started. Natsios did acknowledge that many international aid agencies have withdrawn their personnel since the armed conflict started in the country in October.

The US government has provided more than $110 million in aid through USAID. The Agency has also provided 20,000 shortwave radio so Afghani citizens are informed. There are radio broadcasts telling people about security, food situations in their home villages, public health and food ration allotted to each family.

The United Nations World Health Organization (WHO) has started a measles vaccination program in Kabul. Measles is the cause for the deaths of 35,000 Afghan children every year. WHO's eight million dollar program is scheduled to spread throughout the country in the next three months.

As international organizations work towards helping Afghans rebuild their country, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) reports that 2,500 people have returned to Afghanistan since this new year began. However UNHCR has also reported that refugees are returning to refugee camps in neighboring Pakistan and Iran. The refugees have sighted the lack of humanitarian aid as one of the main reasons for leaving their country once again.