"The UK remains committed to supporting the people of Afghanistan," said UK Minister for the Middle East and North Africa, Hamish Falconer. "This new funding to the World Food Programme will help more than one million people with vital emergency food and nutrition assistance. We are also investing in interventions that will help build the resilience of vulnerable communities, better equipping them to prepare for the impacts of climate change."
With this latest contribution, WFP will procure nearly 9,000 metric tons (mt) of essentials. This includes fortified wheat flour, fortified vegetable oil, split peas, and iodized salt for distribution under its emergency and resilience programmes and over 1,900 mt of specialized nutritious food to prevent malnutrition. Nearly US$ 29 million will go to families as cash or vouchers to buy food on local markets or receive it from local commercial retailers.
"WFP often remains the last lifeline for Afghan women and families who can barely make ends meet and need food assistance to survive," said Hsiao-Wei Lee, WFP Country Director in Afghanistan. "With support from our partners like the United Kingdom, WFP can reach some of the most vulnerable people but importantly also continue to build a more resilient, food secure future for rural communities."
WFP's resilience programme in Afghanistan aims to address the impact of climate-related shocks such as droughts and floods, that contribute to widespread hunger through food assistance-for-assets (FFA) initiatives. Participants receive food while engaging in six-month projects, working on community assets like water canals or flood protection walls that benefit whole villages and communities. The funding will also allow WFP to support smallholder farmers with climate smart seeds and equipment, the creation of kitchen gardens and food processing with solar driers or beekeeping.
In 2023, WFP reached a total of 18.6 million people across all its programmes, 9.4 million of them were women and girls. WFP distributed 600,000 mt of food and disbursed US$190 million in cash or vouchers to help families cover their food needs.
This latest contribution of £ 40 million (more than US$ 50 million) from the Government of the United Kingdom builds on the last year's contribution of over £ 38 (almost US$ 49 million), supporting the future of millions of Afghan families and solidifying the United Kingdom's position as the second largest donor for WFP in Afghanistan, this year.
