"Afghanistan has faced an unprecedented humanitarian crisis compounded by climate change and intense droughts, floods, and earthquakes", wrote ADB in the announcement of their latest contribution. "Women and children are disproportionately affected with many women-led households suffering a lack of food and reduced access to services given women's restrictions on movement outside their homes."
With this contribution, WFP will also train food-insecure women on marketable and entrepreneurial skills and alternative livelihoods along the agricultural value chain, such as fruit and vegetable processing. During the training, they will be supported with monthly cash transfers, while improving their long-term livelihoods and ability to stand on their own feet and buy food for their families thanks to their new skills.
"This contribution comes at a critical moment for Afghanistan, where 15 million people are going hungry and WFP only can still support three million people with emergency food assistance due to a massive funding crisis", said Hsiao-Wei Lee, Country Director of WFP Afghanistan. "We are grateful for this generous contribution from the Asian Development Bank that will help us reach families in need starting before winter, when hunger bites hardest."
This is the second contribution from ADB to WFP in Afghanistan, following US$135 million in the past year which put it amongst the top five contributors. This year, ADB is the biggest partner of WFP, to date.
