News
Saturday, October 29, 2011
WFP faces $109 million shortfall for floods operationISLAMABAD: World Food Programme (WFP) is facing a critical shortfall of $109 million for floods operation in Sindh and Balochistan, WFP spokesman Amjad Jamal told APP on Friday.
“WFP has only supplies to continue distributions in flood-hit areas until the end of November, leaving no option but to cut the ration numbers of beneficiaries from December,” he added.
He said funds were needed on urgent basis to conduct life saving relief food distributions for the most vulnerable victims of the disaster over a planned four month time period alongside Rabi crop season and targeted nutritional support to malnourished women and children until February in Sindh and Balochistan. He said currently food distribution had started in three districts, Kalat, Qillah Abdullah and Lasbela of Balochistan where WFP aimed to access more than 60,000 of the most severely affected by deluge.
To another question, he said WFP had scaled up food assistance in the ongoing month, following cutback by government actors in many districts and was on course to achieve its target of reaching 2.2 million beneficiaries this month. He said more then 1.7 million beneficiaries had so been far approached by WFP in Sindh in October following September’s total of nearly 550,000 since beginning of the emergency response to the floods.
“The WFP has significantly scaled up its distribution pace and is now providing monthly ration to more than 100,000 beneficiaries every day,” he said.
He said safeguards had been built in to ensure that traditionally marginalised groups female-headed households, non-able bodied and the elderly had equal access to assistance such as separate distribution counters and direct delivery of food rations.
“WFP has received assurances at the highest level that the government is prepared to provide a substantial in kind contribution of wheat to the flood operation” he said. app
Courtesy www.dailytimes.com.pk