August 15, 2008	Friday	Sha'aban 12, 1429

RAWALPINDI, Aug 14: The City District Government Rawalpindi (CDGR) has so far verified 35,000 applicants who will benefit from the Food Support Scheme (FSS) being launched by the Punjab government on the occasion of the Independence Day.

District Coordination Officer (DCO) Jamal Mustafa Syed told Dawn that names of the beneficiaries had been sent to the provincial government for inclusion in the list under which each of them would receive, via Pakistan Post, an amount of Rs1,000 per month as food subsidy.

A total of 70,000 people from Rawalpindi district are to get the subsidy. They are being identified by all 14 members of the Punjab Assembly elected from the Rawalpindi district. Each MPA has been asked to identify at least 5,000 beneficiaries from his constituency. The lists are being verified by DCOs and relevant provincial secretaries.

As per the criteria, disabled persons, senior citizens, widows, orphans and those suffering from dangerous diseases qualify for the scheme, which ensures provision of Rs1,000 to each beneficiary monthly through a money order of Pakistan Post.

Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif, who is to inaugurate the Scheme in Lahore, has already announced allocation of Rs22 billion for the Food Support Scheme. Deserving families would be able to purchase ghee, sugar, pulses and other kitchen items from the amount they will receive each month.

Meanwhile, the UN World Food Programme (WFP) has announced inclusion of Pakistan in the 16 countries which will benefit from the roll-out of a $214 million response to help countries hit hard by high food and fuel prices. WFP announced on Wednesday that 10 million additional Pakistanis are now believed to be vulnerable based on their reduced caloric intake. WFP’s response will complement the government’s Food Support Scheme by targeting the households most affected by high food prices. An amount of $20 million would be spent on ‘school feeding’ to be carried out jointly by WFP and Unesco to reach 2.8 million people.

The new WFP funds will provide critical assistance by providing lifesaving food rations to highly vulnerable groups; continuing feeding school-aged children even while school is out; giving supplemental food to pregnant women and young children whose mental and physical development is at stake; expanding food assistance to urban areas hit by high food prices, including through cash and vouchers; and supporting small farmers and markets in countries where WFP will purchase food assistance locally – creating a win-win situation.

In Pakistan, the number of food-insecure people has increased from 60 million to 77 million in 2007-08, resulting in the increased levels of malnutrition, a United Nations report stated. Households are devoting a greater proportion of resources to food and cutting back on consumption.A report of FAO says the prices of basic food commodities around the world have increased rapidly over the past three years. In only the first quarter of 2008, wheat and maize prices increased by 130 per cent and 30 per cent, respectively. Rice prices, while rising moderately in 2006 and more so in 2007, rose in 10 per cent in February 2008 and a further 10 per cent in March 2008.