Food for Peace (FFP) – Humanitarian Assistance

Speeches Shim

Overview
 
Food insecurity continues to affect large numbers of vulnerable Afghan households. According to Afghanistan Central Statistics Office data for 2008, around 7.3 million people (31 percent of the total estimated population) is food insecure with another 5.4 million (23 percent) vulnerable to food insecurity.
Recent high food prices have pushed millions into high-risk food insecurity. This high level of food insecurity is because of inaccessibility to food (insufficient purchasing power) and the unavailability of food (insufficient household and farm production). Through the World Food Program (WFP) and MultiYear Program (MYAP), USAID’s Food for Peace (FFP) project addresses food insecurity issues for affected Afghans such as the chronically poor, schoolchildren, teachers, widows, disabled, tuberculosis patients, pregnant and lactating women, and undernourished children and their families. Internally displaced populations in Afghanistan affected by conflict are also key beneficiaries, as are victims subject to severe winters in the rugged mountainous regions.
 
Activities
  • Protracted relief & recovery operation in Afghanistan ($47.2 million in FY2010): Provide assistance through a range of relief and recovery programs, including food for work, food for training, and food for education. These projects are implemented in partnership with the Afghan Government, community development councils, other UN agencies, and non-governmental organizations.
  • Famine Early Warning System Network (FEWS-NET: $1 million/year): Identify conditions impacting national and regional food security issues such as weather conditions, internally displaced person movement, and forecasting production shortfalls for key commodities. The FEWS-NET project has been instrumental in identifying vulnerable populations and providing critical information to mitigate the negative effects of the present food crisis.
  • MYAP in Ghor Province ($39 million for three years): Increase household income in target populations to reduce food insecurity through improved agricultural production and marketing opportunities, as well as increasing the resilience of crop systems through diversification. The program seeks to reduce malnutrition in children less than five years of age, particularly children younger than 24 months, and improve the nutrition and health practices of pregnant and lactating women.
Results
  • Supported WFP operations in Afghanistan through 10,000 metric tons of food valued at $10 million benefiting 460,000 Afghans during FY 2010
  • Distributed more than 4,300 metric tons of food to more than 13,500 Afghans, including 4,800 pregnant women, 4,200 lactating women, and 3,500 undernourished children, as part of MYAP activities in Ghor Province between August 2009 and April 2010
  • Provided critical periodic weather updates and conducted a national pre-crop assessment to assess the impact of the low precipitation on the 2010 harvest through FEWS-NET