Finnish Red Cross Preparing To Send 28 Tonnes Of Humanitarian Cargo To Afghanistan

The Finnish branch of the Red Cross is due to send at least 500 tents to Afghanistan with a total weight of 28 tonnes, the organization told Sputnik on Friday

HELSINKI (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 10th May, 2019) The Finnish branch of the Red Cross is due to send at least 500 tents to Afghanistan with a total weight of 28 tonnes, the organization told Sputnik on Friday.

Over the past few years, Afghanistan experienced a severe drought that had a huge impact on harvests and forced hundreds of thousands of people to leave their homes. In addition, many Afghan provinces were hit in February and in March by heavy floods that killed dozens of people and displaced over 280,000 people. Following the disasters, over 6 million Afghan people now face severe food insecurity, hunger and economic hardship, according to the Red Cross data.

The Finnish Red Cross funds the purchase of tents.

One tent weighs about 123 Pounds and is designed for a family of five. Thus, the agency plans to provide aid to about 2,500 people. Airbus company is due to provide free aircraft for the mission.

"Collaboration with Airbus cover the transportation costs and allows us to quickly deliver assistance to those in need," Tiina Saarikoski, the head of international disaster aid at the Finnish Red Cross, said.

The plane will arrive at Helsinki Airport on Monday. The jet will be loaded with tents, which by this time will be delivered from the logistics center in the city of Tampere. The aircraft is due to fly to Kabul on Tuesday morning.