AKIPRESS.COM - The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) has started delivering food to Afghanistan from Tajikistan in support of emergency response for Afghan families facing hunger this winter.

The first convoy of seven trucks left WFP warehouses in Dushanbe on November 26, heading to Afghanistan’s Badakhshan province in the northeast. Some 2,500 metric tons of wheat flour procured from the region will be delivered in the coming days and used by WFP Afghanistan in its lifesaving operations.

“Racing against time, WFP colleagues in Afghanistan need all the support we can provide to preposition food before snow cuts off roads, especially in the remote districts such as those in Badakhshan,” said WFP Representative and Country Director in Tajikistan Adham Musallam during a ceremony today to mark the departure of the aid, attended by representatives of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Committee for Emergency Situation under the Government of the Republic of Tajikistan.

“We thank the Government of Tajikistan for standing with the Afghan people at this critical juncture. The corridor is extremely timely in helping us bring food into Afghanistan through border crossings,” added Musallam. He also thanked the Tajik Government for its support to the United Nations Humanitarian Air Service (UNHAS) managed by WFP. Regular flights are now connecting Dushanbe with Kabul and other destinations in Afghanistan and is open to the entire humanitarian community.

Afghanistan is fast becoming the world’s largest humanitarian crisis. WFP has been ramping up lifesaving support, reaching 14.8 million people with food and nutrition assistance since the beginning of this year. However, the needs are immense. The agency needs US$220 million per month to reach 23 million people facing acute food insecurity in 2022.