E-Kantipur

KATHMANDU, JAN 29 - Two donations totalling USD 14 million will enable more than 1.2 million people in Nepal to receive vital food supplies for the next three months, according to the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP).

Issuing a press statement, WFP said that with the timely donations -- USD 8 million from the United Kingdom’s Department for International Development (DFID) and USD 6 million from the United Nations Central Emergency Response Fund --  more than 600,000 people who lost rations in December will now receive them again.

Speaking at the World Food Programme Headquarters in Rome, International Development Secretary Douglas Alexander said, “More than ever, these programmes are urgently needed – because nearly two years on from the peak prices of the food crisis, we know that as many as a billion people across the world today are in the grip of a hunger crisis."

“The timing of the contributions couldn’t have been better with so many people in need of critical food assistance,” said Richard Ragan, WFP Country Director Nepal. “These generous donations will help ensure WFP can resume providing rations to most targeted beneficiaries over the coming months.”

In December, WFP was forced to cut by half its number of beneficiaries from 1.2 million to 600,000 people due to a funding shortfall. Beneficiaries usually receive food and/or cash in exchange for work on vital food security projects, such as micro-hydro projects, trail construction, and building irrigation systems and small-scale plantations and nurseries. More than ever before, these types of projects are critically needed in Nepal to help impoverished communities adapt agricultural practices to combat the impact of climate change.

The US$8million from DFID will help feed 450,000 people for three months. It will help WFP’s food- and cash-for-asset programmes while providing humanitarian relief to Nepalese people suffering from severe food insecurity in the coming months.

The USD 6 million CERF allocation, announced last month, is one of the largest grants ever awarded to WFP. It will provide 4,300 metric tons of food to more than 600,000 people suffering from severe food insecurity through WFP’s food-for-work programme.

The two donations, along with existing resources, will ensure 1.2 million people will receive assistance through to April. However, WFP’s full caseload in Nepal - based on need - should be 1.6 million people. WFP still needs to urgently raise an additional US$45.6 million for food programmes through to December 2010. It is the first time since the start of this project in 2007 that WFP is facing this degree of funding crisis.

Posted on: 2010-01-29 05:59

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