WFP to begin helicopter operations

As winter conditions worsen, the World Food Programme (WFP) will deploy helicopters in an effort to access remote areas of Afghanistan where thousands of people are nearing starvation. "These helicopters will significantly enhance WFP's ability to reach areas where access due to weather or insecurity have diminished," agency spokesman, Wagdi Othman told IRIN on Monday in the Pakistani capital Islamabad. Two of six helicopters will be based in the northern city of Mazar-e Sharif, while the other four will be in Chaghcharan and Bamyan, the provincial capitals of Afghanistan's central Chowr and Bamyan provinces. "The north and central highlands are particularly difficult to reach and overland access to remote villages is proving difficult during the winter," he explained. WFP decided to bring forward its plan to use helicopters following reports of pockets of malnutrition in remote areas of the country. During the harsh winter months, many villages become completely isolated and according to reports last week, thousands of Afghans facing starvation had resorted to eating grass in the form of bread to survive. Helicopters operating from Mazar-e Sharif would be able to quickly bring supplies to villages near the district of Zari, 200 km to the south, an area where access remains particularly difficult. "Some villages can only be reached by donkeys from Zari and can take as much as eight hours," he said, adding with temperatures dropping below zero, some of the animals had already died. Othman said once the helicopters were operational, in addition to being able to carry out assessments, WFP would be able to respond to acute food needs with small amounts of emergency supplies to relieve the most immediate requirements while long-term arrangements were made. Currently, WFP has two C130 transport aircraft in the region that can be used to airdrop food to areas inaccessible by truck or donkey, provided the villages are located near valleys wide enough to permit such operations safely. "It should be remembered that WFP and the entire humanitarian community are working under extremely difficult conditions in Afghanistan," Othman said, adding after 20 years of conflict, there was almost no infrastructure and in rural areas and that security remained a major concern. Against a backdrop of continued insecurity, over the past three months, WFP has multiplied by four the amount of food delivered to Afghanistan. "We knew that potentially we were running the risk of some of the food being diverted, but because it was urgently needed by millions of hungry Afghans, we had to accept the risk of some losses," he explained. Even before the events of 11 September, Afghanistan faced a major food crisis. Its 22-year war, three years of drought and a collapsed economy had left 5.5 million people partially or fully dependent on food aid. Given the sheer scale of the humanitarian crisis facing Afghanistan, WFP has had to rethink its entire relief strategy for the region. The new operation requires 493,801 mt of food aid from October 2001 through to the end of March 2002.