The government of Sindh has provided around 8,333 metric tonnes of wheat to the World Food Programme (WFP) for the flood-affected people in Sindh.
“We are extremely grateful to the government of Sindh for the contribution as it will be vital in ensuring we can maintain our supply line to the people who still desperately need our help,” said WFP Pakistan Country Director Jean-Luc Siblot, according to a press release issued by the WFP on Monday.
Jean-Luc Siblot also asked the donors across the world to come forward to help the flood victims and Pakistan was doing all it could to assist them.
The contribution from the government of Sindh is part of the 25,000 tonnes of wheat that was pledged by Pakistan to the WFP last month during a visit of WFP Deputy Executive Director for Operations, Ramiro Lopes da Silva, to Pakistan.
According to the WFP, the wheat would be enough to provide food to nearly 730,000 people for one month.
The WFP had began its emergency operation to provide food rations to people affected by the 2011 floods on 12 September following a request from the Pakistani authorities. The agency has reached out more than 2.4 million people Sindh and Balochistan provinces so far.
However, WFP said that it was still facing a funding shortfall of $107 million to achieve its target of providing food assistance to the most severely flood-affected people up to February 2012. “Without further urgent donations, supplies will start running out before the end of November, making it impossible to maintain a full ration. This will leave WFP with no option but to cut the ration size or number of people assisted from December,” the WFP added.
Meanwhile, flood waters have begun to recede in recent days, but many communities still remain cut off and thousands of square kilometres of crops have been lost, with a devastating effect on the livelihoods of millions of people. Farmers fear that it would be difficult for them to plant again for months and will temporarily be dependent on food assistance.
