WFP emergency food aid reaches drought-stricken villages

Drought-stricken villages in northwestern Nepal have begun receiving grain from the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP). The US $5.3 million operation, considered by WFP to be one of its most difficult and expensive, started in July in response to the severe shortage of food faced by villagers in Bajura, Jajarkot, Kalikot, Dailekh, Rolpa, Rukum, Jumla, Humla, Dolpa and Mugu districts. The districts have a history of food shortages due to their high altitude locations. The Action Contre la Faim (ACF), a French international NGO, said that steep slopes, poor soil and dry climate limited cultivation. Nepalese experts said a severe winter drought, the worst of its kind in 40 years, had made the situation much worse. For WFP the major challenge has been transporting food to the districts because most of the roads are not navigable. The food has to be airlifted or carried by porters, tractors or mules, lifting the cost to as much as US $350 per mt. Richard Ragan, WFP Nepal’s representative, said many of the districts could only be accessed by helicopter. The start of the monsoon had made using roads nearly impossible, with trucks blocked by landslides and rising rivers. WFP's partners, Support Activities for Poor Producers of Nepal and the Development Project Service Centre, were helping to find alternative transport including tractors, mules and porters. "In some instances, villagers have had to walk for up to five days to collect their [food] rations," Ragan said. WFP had also sought help from the Nepalese Army. It had been using three commercial MI-17 helicopters to carry four mt of food per flight. By 30 July, some 188 mt had been airlifted to Bajura, with 1,300 mt more to be airlifted to Humla, Jumla, Dolpa and Mugu districts, according to WFP. An additional 1,100 mt was delivered by truck to Bajura, Jajarkot, Kalikot and Dailekh. WFP's aim was to feed a quarter of a million villagers. However, there were concerns that it may not be able to give more aid to six out of the 10 districts if additional funding was not pledged. "We know this is an area that has chronic food shortages but several years far below average production have pushed people over the edge," Ragan said. NN/GS/DS