The World Food Programme (WFP) will continue to provide food assistance to families from North Waziristan staying in Bannu, Lakki Marwat, D.I. Khan, Tank and other areas of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. “We are working closely with the national and provincial authorities, civil society, and our utmost priority is to provide food to all displaced people in the shortest possible time,” WFP’s Country Director Lola Castro said in a statement.
The federal government has announced an additional contribution of 25,000 tons of wheat to the UN food agency to continue providing the food ration to all displaced people in KP. With this contribution, the WFP will be able to continue its relief assistance until early September. USAID has provided $5.5 million to cover the cost of milling, fortifying and distributing the wheat. The WFP is distributing its standard food basket of fortified wheat flour, pulses, vegetable oil and iodised salt as well as high-energy biscuits for children.
Assistance is being provided from humanitarian hub established in Bannu and Lakki Marwat. Plans are under way to set up more hubs and to operate from distribution points for displaced families in D.I. Khan and Tank. According to the Provincial Disaster Management Authority, around 36,000 families have been registered as displaced since security forces launched Operation Zarb-i-Azb in North Waziristan earlier this month.
