WFP assures of continued support to Nepal

The World Food Programme's Executive Director James T. Morris, who was is Nepal for a brief visit, met with the agriculture secretary Ganesh KC and discussed the successful partnership between WFP and the Government of Nepal in addressing food security issues, particularly in the recent collaboration to provide a month supply of food to over 70,000 flood affected victims in four districts of mid and far western Nepal.

On his way back from Bhutan, he landed Nepal in order to gain a better understanding of the ongoing peace process, to understand the status of WFP's emergency operations to provide 225,000 drought affected people with essential food items in ten districts of mid western Nepal, and to express WFP's commitment to providing the Government of Nepal additional emergency support if the drought worsens, a press statement of the WFP said.

During the meeting, secretary KC expressed his concern over early reports of additional crop failures throughout the country, due to both flooding and drought, and how this might impact overall food security for families already coping with food deficits.

Morris expressed WFP's commitment to ensuring that resources would be available to provide additional emergency food assistance should the crop failures continue. He assured that WFP is poised to extend its Nepal-based operations to include similar support should the Maoists agree to disarm and fully participate in the peace process.

During his meeting with Bhutanese King Jigme Singye Wanchuck in Thimphu, Morris raised, the statement reads, the humanitarian perspective on the Bhutanese refugee situation and expressed WFP's desire for a long term solution.

WFP has been providing essential food aid to over 106,000 Bhutanese refugees since 1992. Morris also promised to be supportive in providing additional assistance if these people are repatriated. nepalnews.com ia Oct 06 06