WFP FURTHER SCALES UP OPERATIONS TO COMPLEMENT GOVERNMENT FLOOD RESPONSE

Dr. Jassim Taqui

DG Al-Bab Institute for Strategic Studies

Islamabad, October 11, 2022: WFP continues ramping up its emergency operations for Pakistani families devasted by floods. Life-saving food and nutrition assistance and recovery and resilience-building support are being rolled out, to reach 2.7 million people who are facing emergency-level food insecurity (IPC-4) and need urgent humanitarian aid. WFP is also increasing its logistical support to the Government.

 

Nearly 8 million people are still reportedly displaced, 644,000 of them are in relief camps. The floodwaters have receded in some areas, but scores of communities remain cut off, creating challenges for the delivery of aid. There has been an outbreak of waterborne diseases, with 4.4 million cases of cholera, dengue and malaria reported nationwide, turning the flood emergency into a health crisis. Some 600,000 pregnant women in flood-affected areas have no safe place to deliver babies, while 5 million children do not have immunization and nutrition care.

 

The floods have exacerbated previously high levels of food insecurity and malnutrition for millions of people. The latest WFP and FAO assessment indicate that the number of people requiring emergency food assistance will increase from the pre-flood estimated 7.2 million to a staggering 14.6 million from December through March 2023.

 

 

WFP Response

 

• By 5 October, WFP has reached over 700,000 flood-affected people with food and livelihood assistance in Balochistan, KP, and Sindh, the country’s most hard-hit provinces. 
• Some 11,200 children under 2 and 12,007 pregnant and breastfeeding women have received specialized nutritious foods to help prevent and treat malnutrition and boost immunity against disease.
• WFP is using 27 boats from the Provincial Disaster Management Authorities (PDMA) to ferry food, reaching 52,000 people (8,000 households) in hard-to-reach areas of Sindh.
• Since early September, WFP has supported the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) to handle 28,467 m3 of relief cargo and supported transportation to more than 50 different locations across Pakistan via 2,000 contracted trucks. WFP has also coordinated the arrival of vessels at the Karachi seaport, flights at Karachi, Sukkur, and Islamabad airports, as well as trains arriving at the Pakistan border carrying relief items, as large amounts of bilateral in-kind relief items arrive at a level that exceeds NDMA’s logistical capacity.
• The month-long Post Disaster Needs Assessment (PDNA) is underway under the leadership of the Ministry of Planning and Development with the technical support of the Asian Development Bank, European Union, World Bank, and the UN. WFP is represented under the Agriculture and Food security sector, which is led by FAO, under the Nutrition sub-sector, and under Disaster Risk Reduction for crosscutting themes. The report, with key recommendations, will be finalized by 15 October.
• After concluding the relief response, WFP will gradually transition to recovery and resilience activities to help communities rehabilitate climate-smart infrastructure and restore livelihoods.
• On 4 October, the United Nations in Pakistan revised its Flash Appeal given the evolving needs on the ground, seeking US$816 million to reach 9.5 million people. WFP’s scale-up requires US$225 million, including $US185 million in food and agriculture, US$31 million in nutrition, and US$9 million in logistics.