WFP Cranks Up Emergency Relief For Afghan Flood Victims, Delivering Enough To Feed 60,000 People

Within hours of the first reports of devastating spring floods
reaching the Afghan capital, the United Nations World Food Programme
accelerated relief plans that by today have managed to deliver 1,000 tonnes
of emergency rations, enough to feed 60,000 victims of the rising waters
for 30 days.


Despite the effort, WFP remains concerned about the fate of many who may be
beyond the reach of immediate help, stranded in remote, sometimes war-torn,
mountainous regions cut off by the destruction of access roads and
subsequent landslides and avalanches.


"We don't have a lot of time to waste," said WFP Afghanistan Country
Director Rick Corsino. "It can take quite a while in this country to get
food and other assistance to affected people and there are many in
desperate need of food, shelter, blankets and medicine."


WFP's relief effort is further complicated in the flooded southern province
of Helmand, where security is a major concern as a result of frequent
clashes between insurgents and Government and international forces.
Reaching flood victims in such areas has become a huge challenge as trucks
carrying WFP food are frequently attacked by anti-government elements.


The heavy rains, aggravated by rapidly melting winter snows, have cut 300
kms of roads, including the major highways linking Kabul with both the
north and the south of the country.


Since the rains began in mid-March, the floods have claimed the lives of
dozens of people and scores of domestic livestock, destroyed or damaged
thousands of homes and washed away tens of thousands of hectares of
cultivated land.


Worst hit have been the central provinces of Kabul Uruzgan, Parwan and Day
Kundi; the western provinces of Ghor, Badghis and Herat; the eastern
provinces of Nangarhar and Kunar; the southeastern province of Khost and
Paktiya; and, in the south, Helmand and Nimroz provinces. Kabul city was
also heavily affected with 500 homes damaged or destroyed, 900 families
displaced and a further 1,700 at imminent risk of being forced to flee.


Afghanistan's Vice President has declared 13 of the country's 34 provinces
as disaster areas because of the damage. WFP's assistance is part of a
coordinated relief effort that includes several Government ministries, UN
agencies, NGOs and the international military.


"The collaboration has been excellent," said Corsino. "We have been working
very well together to quickly assess the real needs and deliver as much
help as we can, and as fast as we can, to those who need it most."


While the rains continue to fall in parts of the country, the full toll of
death and destruction is still under review by Joint Emergency Assessment
Teams, which includes Government ministries, WFP, other UN agencies, the
Afghan Red Crescent and Provincial Construction Teams (PRTs).



WFP is the world's largest humanitarian agency: each year, we give food to
an average of 90 million poor people to meet their nutritional needs,
including 58 million hungry children, in at least 80 of the world's poorest
countries. WFP -- We Feed People.


WFP Global School Feeding Campaign - For just 19 US cents a day, you can
help WFP give children in poor countries a healthy meal at school - a gift
of hope for a brighter future.Visit our website: wfp


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