WFP Welcomes International Support For Emergency Operation In Pakistan

Main Category: Aid / Disasters
Article Date: 10 Jun 2009 - 4:00 PDT

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The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) thanked contributors for enabling a swift response to the humanitarian crisis in Pakistan, feeding the hungry and displaced and contributing to peace and stability in the region.

"The generous support from countries around the world has allowed us to rapidly move life-saving food assistance to 2.6 million people who have fled conflict in the Swat region of Pakistan," said WFP Executive Director, Josette Sheeran, adding that the needs of the people affected by the conflict were likely to remain high for the foreseeable future.

WFP has received US$72 million in donations towards the emergency operation in Pakistan - with more than half of this amount coming from the United States. Other donors to the operation include Australia, Canada, Germany, Japan, Sweden, the United Kingdom, and the UN's Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF). Approximately US$100,000 has also been donated by Pakistani individuals and private companies.

Yet WFP is facing a shortfall in its US$170 million budget for the Pakistan operation and is already anticipating increased numbers of hungry people.

Funds from the United States have been used to purchase food commodities from pre-positioned stocks in the region, as well as providing cash to procure locally inside Pakistan.

The food assistance is being distributed through humanitarian hubs that WFP has established close to the areas that have seen the greatest population movements. On arrival at the hubs, displaced people who have been registered receive a month's ration of food, as well as cooking utensils and shelter material.

Source
The United Nations World Food Programme