As flooding continues to cause displacement, destruction and suffering in Pakistan, WFP is mobilizing all possible resources to ensure those affected receive food assistance as swiftly as possible.
• WFP is planning to have reached 2 million people with food by August 20th – communities who are urgently in need of food and accessible to relief teams. Some will need assistance for a short period only, but many will likely need help for at least three months.
• WFP is appealing for US$163 million for food and logistics/emergency telecoms support to respond to the crisis. WFP has enough food in-country to provide a one-month ration for the needs of 6 million people (the overall flood affected population deemed in need of food assistance).
• WFP has already received confirmed contributions of US $13.2 million (as of 10 August) – urgent donor support is required to make the necessary purchases which will ensure steady supplies beyond August.
KHYBER PAKHUNKHWA (KPK)
• Rapid food assessments have been concluded across Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KPK) and indicate that some 2.6 million people need food.
• WFP was on Monday able to re-start helicopter operations to deliver food supplies into the upper Swat valley. Bad weather had prevented helicopter deliveries on Friday, Saturday and Sunday to areas where about 600,000 people have been cut off by flooding. Operations continued on Tuesday.
• Despite the adverse weather, by Tuesday evening WFP had reached nearly 370,000 people with one-month food supplies in the worst affected areas of KPK. These supplies include high-energy biscuits and ready-to-eat foods for infants and young children, as well as fortified wheat flour.
• The number of people being reached increases daily, as does the area covered by food distributions.
OTHER OPERATIONS
• WFP is also scaling up food assistance to flood-affected communities in Punjab, Sindh and Balochistan.
• WFP is finalising preparations for distributions in DG Khan, Leiah, RY Khan, Rajanpur and Muzaffargh in Punjab to about 525,000 people, and Khairpur, Kashmore, Shikarpur, Ghotki and Sukkur in Sindh to about 300,000. Distributions in other parts of Punjab and Sindh will start in the coming days.
• At any one time, WFP currently estimates that it has at least 200 trucks moving food around Pakistan to deliver assistance to flood victims. Donkeys are also being prepared in a bid to reach the most remote communities who cannot even be reached by helicopter.
• In order to scale up distributions as quickly as possible, WFP is increasing the number of NGO partners we are working with across the flood-affected areas.
• In addition, food stocks already in place for existing operations donated by the key donors such as the USA have helped ensure people have been assisted as quickly as possible.
• To ensure a steady supply of wheat flour to the flood operation, WFP is increasing the number of mills it uses from 12 to 20.
• A swift response has been made possible by the deep field presence of WFP and its partners – with 19 humanitarian hubs (with some food stocks) and a network of national and international NGOs.
WFP is the world’s largest humanitarian agency fighting hunger worldwide. Each year, on average, WFP feeds more than 90 million people in more than 70 countries.
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For more information, please contact (email address: [email protected]):
Marcus Prior, WFP/Islamabad, Mob: + 92 300 856 9811
Amjad Jamal, WFP/Islamabad, Mob: +92 300 850 0989
Caroline Hurford, WFP/London, Tel. +44-20-72409001, Mob. +44-7968-008474
Emilia Casella, WFP/Geneva, Tel. +41-22-9178564, Mob. +41-792857304
Abeer Etefa, WFP/Cairo, Tel. +2 02 25281730 ext. 2600, Mob. +2 016 663 4352
Dena Gudaitis, WFP/New York, Tel. +1 6465566914 Mob. +1 9173402588
