ISLAMABAD, Nov 30: The United Nations’ World Food Programme (WFP) is expanding its operations in Pakistan to support additional 3.1 million people hit hard by recent high food prices.
An emergency assistance worth $71 million has been earmarked for this purpose.
A spokesman for the WFP told this reporter that the allocated amount would be spent in 20 worst-affected districts of the NWFP, Balochistan and Sindh. The UN food agency has already been supporting about four million poor people in Pakistan, the spokesman added.
The present programme is only for people who have been pushed below poverty line by the recent phenomenal increase in prices of commodities of daily use.
According to a recent UN assessment, additional 10 million Pakistanis have dropped below the lowest food security threshold as a result of the soaring food prices.
While 3.1 million of these poor will be supported by the WFP the remaining 6.9 million will be covered through other social safety nets of the government like Benazir Income Support Programme, Pakistan Baitul Mal and Punjab Food Stamp Programme, the spokesman said.
To avoid overlapping, all these programmes will be well-coordinated through Nadra identity cards, the spokesman added.
The government has also set up a National Task Force on Food Security in response to the food price crisis. The task force recommended safety net assistance for seven million poor households.
The government’s Benazir Income Support Programme will provide cash support of Rs1,000 per month to 3.5 million families.
Other programmes such as Baitul Mal and the Punjab Food Stamp Programme will reach additional poor families. However, in the poor districts that are most affected by the food price hike, national safety nets are still inadequate.
In order to complement government efforts, the WFP has now commenced food assistance for over three million people in 20 districts with the highest gap between needs and coverage by national programmes.
“WFP is taking practical steps to ensure that poor people are not pushed over the edge by the impact of high food prices. WFP’s efforts are designed to complement government response that are planned or are already in place,” said WFP Country Representative Wolfgang Herbinger.
He said: “WFP’s assistance will not only provide relief to the poor families, but will ensure retention of primary school students at a time of high risk of drop-out. Additionally, this assistance will also provide employment opportunities and assets creation through food for work.”
The districts identified for WFP’s assistance are Battagram, Buner, Shangla, Kohistan, Mansehra, Swat, Lower and Upper Dir in the NWFP; Bolan, Chaghai, Noshki, Kalat, Killa Abdullah, Kharan, Pishin and Zhob in Balochistan and arid zones of Tharparkar, Umerkot, Sanghar and Khairpur in Sindh.