Afghanistan - The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) received a contribution of USD 500,000 from the Kuwait Red Crescent Society (KRCS) to support its operations in Afghanistan. The agreement was signed by Dr. Hilal AL Sayer, President of the Kuwait Red Crescent Society and Karin Manente, Director of the Public Partnerships and Resourcing Division at WFP.
The worsening economic crisis, decades of conflict and years of severe drought have put Afghanistan on the brink of a humanitarian catastrophe: 23 million people now face acute hunger.WFP has reached more than 14 million people in 2022 with emergency assistance.
With this timely contribution from the Kuwait Red Crescent Society, WFP will provide much needed emergency assistance to populations across 34 provinces in Afghanistan. It will also enable WFP to continue providing life-saving nutrition-sensitive food assistance through in-kind and commodity voucher approaches to approximately 646,963 acutely food-insecure people to help them meet their basic food needs.
WFP Afghanistan Country Director and Representative, Mary-Ellen McGroarty says;
''We are so grateful for this contribution from the Kuwait Red Crescent Society, the hunger families are facing is devastating and heart-breaking - this generous funding will go a long way.''
The latest WFP food security data shows that 95% of Afghans are not eating enough food, with the number rising to almost 100% for households headed by women, while 4.7 million people could suffer from acute malnutrition in 2022. Two-thirds of the population are now resorting to desperate measures to feed their families. Despite the severe coping mechanisms adopted by parents and caregivers, including sacrificing their own meals so children can eat, children still suffer from malnutrition. 100 percent of female headed surveyed households have little access to food; 95 percent of all households nationwide cannot get enough to eat.
Given the humanitarian and food assistance needs in Afghanistan, urgent action with adequate funding is required for WFP to consistently respond effectively, rapidly, and flexibly to emerging needs. The World Food Programme requires USD 1.6 billion to support around 23 million Afghans until the end of the year.
