KABUL- The first 2,500 MT consignment of wheat totalling 10,000 MT donated by the Government of India has arrived in Afghanistan, to support Afghan people in need of urgent humanitarian assistance.
''We thank the Government of India and it's people for this timely contribution'', WFP Afghanistan Country Director Mary-Ellen Mcgroarty said, ''There are mothers and families who do not have enough food to eat, they are facing severe hunger and every donation of food assistance will go a long way. We are delighted with the Government of India partnership and hope to see continued cooperation.''
The consignment is part of India's in-kind contribution to WFP and will be distributed to families facing hunger. On 22 February, India's Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla, Afghanistan's Ambassador to India Farid Mamundzay and WFP India Country Director Bishow Parajuli flagged off the convoy at a ceremony at Amritsar's Attari border crossing. The trucks arrived in Jalalabad in Afghanistan on 26 February.
WFP has reached more than 11 million people so far in 2022 and in 2021 we assisted more than 15 million people. Food insecurity in Afghanistan is rising sharply, driven by the impact of the economic crisis, decades of conflict, and drought. Over half of all Afghan people - 23 million - now need emergency food assistance. The latest WFP food security data show that 95 percent of Afghans consume insufficient food, with the number rising to almost 100 percent among households headed by women. Two-thirds - 66% - are resorting to desperate coping measures like borrowing money or skipping meals to feed their families, a six-fold increase since August last year.
WFP needs US$ 2.6 billion in 2022 to reach 23 million people facing acute hunger and malnutrition. We need to fill the gap of US$ 1.8 billion after March.
