KABUL (SW) – It is estimated that more than 15 million people in Afghanistan are severely food insecure and 2.8 million people are at the emergency level of hunger, stated the World Food Program.
The WFP has said in a statement that Carl Skau, the deputy executive director and operational manager, traveled to Afghanistan last week to see the relief operations in one of the world’s biggest humanitarian crises there. He has seen the impact of restrictions on women’s work and drastic budget cuts that recently forced the World Food Program to reduce the number of food packages and the number of people receiving emergency food aid to save lives, the statement said.
Carl Skau said: “It is clear that the activities of the World Food Program in Afghanistan save human lives every day. Widows in food distribution centers told me how important WFP food aid is to them and their children. Farmers showed me how the community-based community projects they built with support from the World Food Program can save their land from devastating floods and droughts. I saw strong women in vocational training centers who can now earn money to support their families and prepare food for them.”
According to the announcement, during his five-day trip to Bagrami district of Kabul and Charikar City, the center of Parwan, Carl Sekau visited the projects that are implementing the World Food Program and met with the leadership of the United Nations in Afghanistan, diplomats and NGOs in Kabul.
In a meeting with the Islamic Emirate authorities, he emphasized the vital role of women in delivering World Food Program aid to the most needy women and girls. “The men and women of WFP and NGOs I have met are all deeply committed to their work and our goal of saving lives and making a difference in people’s lives,” added Carl Skau. “We continue to work to fully engage our female staff to ensure that Afghan girls, boys, women and men have equal access to WFP assistance.”
The World Food Program has emphasized in this announcement that this program needs 918 million US dollars for the next six months to continue providing aid throughout Afghanistan.
ENDS
