Japan donates US $3 million to buy food

The government of Japan has donated US $3 million to the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) to purchase food for 44,000 of the worst affected families in Afghanistan, WFP said on Monday in the capital Kabul. The donation comes after the WFP office in Afghanistan warned in May that millions of Afghans were in a destitute condition and could face severe hunger if more than US $30 million was not provided to the UN agency. “WFP is extremely grateful for the timing and the nature of Japan's contribution. It is exactly the kind of support that these desperate people deserve," said Rikki Malik Lali, WFP acting representative in Afghanistan. “The first 12-truck convoy carrying 127 mt food commodities purchased with this Japanese donation have departed from the WFP warehouse in Kabul today [Monday]. The convoy will go to the people in need in remote areas of the northeastern Badakhshan province,” Ebadullah Ebadi, public information officer of WFP told IRIN in Kabul. Japan has donated the funds to purchase nearly 4,400 mt of food commodities, including rice and pulses, according to Ebadi. This will be enough to feed needy Afghans living in food-insecure rural areas of Afghanistan, through ongoing relief and recovery activities that include the food-for-training programme, support to tuberculosis patients and their families, the vulnerable group feeding programme, food-for-work activities and emergency assistance to victims of natural disasters, according to WFP in Kabul. The UN food agency still faces an overall shortfall of 36,000 mt of food aid until the end of 2006 out of a total requirement of 110,000 mt. WFP needs an additional US $25 million to fund its activities for the rest of the year. "Afghanistan is presently the number one top priority for WFP global emergency funding," said Rikki. "We hope Japan's generous contribution will encourage other donors to come forward to support our severely under-funded projects in Afghanistan at this critical time." In 2006, depending on the availability of funds, WFP aims to provide assistance to around 3.5 million Afghans, who are either chronically or seasonally food insecure. According to WFP, over 50 percent of children are malnourished in Afghanistan, while one in three of people living in rural areas are unable to meet daily basic nutritional requirements. Afghanistan is one of the poorest countries in the world, with over half of its 25 million inhabitants living below the poverty line. A 2003 national vulnerability assessment revealed that some 3.5 million Afghans were extremely poor and chronically food insecure, while an additional 3 million were seasonally food insecure. Up to 400,000 people are affected by natural disasters, such as droughts, floods, earthquakes, snowfalls, rains and extreme weather conditions throughout the country every year, according to WFP statistics. "If we do not receive more contributions now, thousands if not millions of Afghan lives will be put at risk during the coming winter," Rikki warned. A total of 1.25 million people received more than 16,000 mt of WFP food aid from January to March 2006 despite serious logistical and security constraints.