The United Kingdom contributes £40 million to WFP's emergency and resilience programmes in Afghanistan

KABUL – The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) in Afghanistan welcomes a contribution of £40 million (over US$50 million) from the United Kingdom’s Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO). With this funding, WFP will be able to support more than 1.2 million people with emergency food assistance. Furthermore, WFP plans to provide preventive malnutrition treatment for nearly 150,000 children and more than 140,000 pregnant and breastfeeding mothers. Finally, this funding will enable 77,000 food-insecure people to participate in asset creation projects that help communities become more productive and resilient to the impacts of the climate crisis.

“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.

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The United Nations World Food Programme is the world’s largest humanitarian organization, saving lives in emergencies and using food assistance to build a pathway to peace, stability and prosperity for people recovering from conflict, disasters, and the impact of climate change.

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Contact

Philippe Kropf, WFP/Kabul, 
Mob. +93 707 271 901 

Ziauddin Safi, WFP/Kabul, 
Mob. +93 706 934 875