KABUL (Pajhwok): Nine out of 10 families in Afghanistan do not have adequate access to food, with children and pregnant women the hardest hit, says a senior World Food Program (WFP) official.
WFP Deputy Executive Director and Chief Operating Officer Carl Skau said Afghanistan was facing a grave humanitarian crisis.
While characterising the humanitarian situation in Afghanistan as dire, the Swedish diplomat said in an interview that the UN food agency would need $1 billion “to get through” the winter.
Speaking to VOA, Skau added: “We have so far only managed to mobilize some 10% of that.”
One of the main challenges for his organisation was to reach the most vulnerable groups, especially women and children, in Afghanistan, he explained.
He complained the Taliban bans on women working for WFP were obstructing UN efforts to serve the needy Afghans.
About his last month’s visit to Kabul and Parwan provinces, the official said: “I managed to see both urban and rural contexts.”
He opined the situation continues to be desperate. But he was impressed by the resilience of the Afghan people, not least of the women, and their commitment to moving forward.
“I also saw how WFP’s work is making a difference. And how, despite the complicated and difficult operating environment, we are finding ways to deliver to people.”
In response to a query, he said WFP did not have a Plan B if the aid request was not fully funded. The UN agency needed to find a way to fund its operations.
Having reached about half of Afghanistan’s population, WFP delivered food to 13 million people in December, January and February. In March, it reduced food delivery to around eight million people.
Looking for almost a billion dollars to get through the next winter, the organisation has so far managed to mobilise only 10% of that.
“So, you know we need some serious injection of funds in order to be able to do what we did last year, which really brought us through the winter, averted famine and helped stabilise the situation.”
PAN Monitor/mud
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