Islamabad, 15 November 2021 (TDI): The Pakistani government supports the United Nations World Food Program (WFP) efforts to address the acute food shortages in Afghanistan. As the country faces a rapidly growing humanitarian crisis.
According to a recent study by the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC), approximately 22.8 million people in Afghanistan suffer from severe food insecurity, including 8.7 million at the emergency level (IPC Phase 4).
Without immediate action to help people, the situation will soon become a matter of life or death. WFP is rapidly expanding its activities to provide emergency food aid to the most vulnerable Afghan people. With the support of the Government of Pakistan, WFP has begun exporting wheat flour from Pakistan to Afghanistan.
WFP and Pakistan
Wheat is milled and fortified to improve the nutritional value of food in Pakistan. WFP’s first wheat flour is transported from the city of Multan in eastern Pakistan to Jalalabad via Peshawarin Northwestern Pakistan. About 200 trucks carrying 10,000 wheat flour will travel from Pakistan to Afghanistan in the coming days. “WFP Pakistan has worked closely with the Department of Food Security and the Department of Trade to secure and secure the export of wheat flour to Afghanistan for the first time,” WFP Pakistan Representative Chris Kaye said.
Kaye also stated: “WFP food aid to the Afghan people has now saved lives. It will reduce the chances of people moving out to survive. ” In addition to providing an important source of food, Pakistan provides an important tunnel to help Afghan people around the world.
WFP and other humanitarian organizations rely on the smooth transit of goods from the port of Karachi onwards to cross the Chaman-Torkham border. The government also promotes the functioning of the Humanitarian Air Service (UNHAS) Islamabad to Kabul.
The air bridge serves as an important part of supporting relief efforts within and across Afghanistan with a community of humanitarian aid. “Pakistan’s support for WFP’s work in Afghanistan is crucial. Thank you so much for the help we have received so far, ”added Kaye.
