WHO hopes for air bridge into northern Afghanistan in days

Medical supplies will run out within days in Afghanistan, the WHO said Friday, announcing that it hopes to establish an air bridge into the northern city of Mazar-i-Sharif by then with the help of Pakistani authorities. Trauma kits and emergency supplies for hospitals, as well as medicines for treating chronic malnutrition in children are among priority items for Afghanistan, where 18 million people depend on aid, the WHO's regional emergency director said. "What remains certain is that humanitarian needs are enormous and growing," Rick Brennan said. "Right now because of security concerns and several other operational considerations, Kabul airport is not going to be an option for the next week at least," he said. "One of the problems we have in Afghanistan right now is there is no civil aviation authority functioning, but we are working with Pakistan particularly in the context of Mazar-i-Sharif airport. Because they can work with contacts on the ground so that all the necessary steps to land an aircraft, to land a cargo aircraft, can be put in place," Brennan said. Pakistan International Airlines will provide air transport for the operation, while WHO will arrange logistics on the ground, WHO spokesperson Inas Hamam said. <br/>