United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) has welcomed a three year contribution of $4.5 million from the Australian Government to support food and nutrition security among displaced communities in Pakistan.

Australia’s contribution will be used for WFP’s education programme in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) and Frontier Regions (FR).

The funding would enable WFP to provide food-based assistance in schools and to alleviate the burden on families of having their children attend school.

Australian High Commissioner to Pakistan, Margaret Adamson said Australia had a long-standing history of working with the government of Pakistan to provide humanitarian assistance when needed.

“Since 2010, Australia had provided more than Australian Dollar (AUD) 95million in humanitarian assistance, in partnership with the WFP, to Pakistan for the victims of earthquakes, floods and displacement.

Australia’s assistance has also helped provide nutrition to acute malnourished women and children, livelihood support and school feeding programmes,” the high commissioner said.

“We are very grateful to the people and Australian government for the contribution. These funds will help to address critical education needs in FATA and FR for the returnee communities,” WFP acting Country Director Stephen Gluning said.

In 2016, Australia contributed US$ 9 million to WFP programmes, placing it among the top five donors to WFP Pakistan.

“The Government of Pakistan extends its gratitude to the Australian Government for its unshrinking support,” the Federal Minister of States and Frontier Regions (SAFRON) Lt-Gen Abdul Qadir said.

Under the programme, WFP would provide over 312,000 children with a mid-morning snack of High Energy Biscuits (HEBs) during the school day and monthly take-home rations of vegetable oil fortified with Vitamins A and D, in seven FATA agencies and four regions in the Frontier.

Providing children with HEBs has proven to significantly increase children’s enrolment and retention rates in WFP assisted primary schools of FATA. These are strong incentives for parents to send their children, especially their daughters, to school which helps to improve the long-term prosperity of these children.

With an overall literacy rate of 33.3pc (national average 58pc, 2013-14) and an adult literacy rate of 28.4pc (national average 57pc), education indicators in FATA are not only far below the national average, but they also place FATA among one of the least literate areas of the world.