Thousands of men, women and children who have fled the war in South Afghanistan are now struggling to survive the freezing winter in the country's capital, Kabul.

More than 500 persons are estimated to have died in Afghanistan's worst winter in over thirty years. Heavy snowfalls and temperatures below minus 25 degrees Celcius have caused fatalities of around 70 000 livestock in West Afghanistan. When NRC's Secretary General Elisabeth Rasmusson visited Kabul this week, she was met by desperate parents who called for help for their children. People wearing thin clothing and some with bare feet, were hurrying past the simple tents in the city of 1800 meter altitude. In one of the tents, was the body of a man who had tragically died the night before. In another tent, two young sisters sat on the snow inside while they were starring out in the air. In the streets behind them, cars were driving by. "People are fleeing to Kabul fearing for their lives, but they are dying in front of our eyes when they get here because they lack shelter, food and health care. This horrible situation is evidence of the tragic humanitarian consequences of the conflict in Afghanistan," Rasmusson says.

She calls upon the Afghan government, the UN and international community to respond immediately to the crisis. Nobody knows how many thousands of people may have fled the fighting in the South to Kabul during the winter. At least, 160 families were doing their best to try and keep warm and find food in the camp Rasmusson went to. A widow and mother of three spoke of her despair in not knowing how she would manage to keep her children alive.

"The situation for the children is of special concern. They lack food, warm clothing, shelter, security, education and suffer from a traumatizing situation. Trafficking is also alleged to be a major problem in Kabul, with children in the camps at risk," she says.

NRC is distributing plastic sheeting, mattresses and blankets to 200 families in the area and is planning to expand the emergency response in coordination with international and government partners.

Rasmusson underlines that much of Afghanistan today should no longer be looked upon as being in a state of reconstruction, when insurgency and active conflict dominates a large proportion of the country.

"Donors should balance military and humanitarian funding, which should be directed to independent aid agencies in areas where there is the highest need and vulnerability in the Afghan population," Rasmusson said.

It is estimated that more than 37 000 persons have been displaced in the South and East in 2007, as a result of the armed conflict between the insurgents, government forces and Nato's International Security Assistance Forces (ISAF). 129 000 persons are long term internally displaced. But these numbers are difficult to assess, given the lack of ability of NRC and other organisations to assess the situation on the ground. Lack of humanitarian space is a huge concern and makes the situation even worse for the civilians. Due to poor security , UNHCR lacks access to 45 per cent of the country going into 2008.