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WFP navigates complex route to deliver emergency food aid to Afghan schoolchildren
WFP officials were forced to seek alternative routes to ensure the food reached vulnerable children without significant delays.
The World Food Programme (WFP) has detailed the complex journey required to deliver emergency food aid to Afghan schoolchildren, with a recent shipment traveling nearly 15,000 kilometers across nine countries amid regional instability, border closures and logistical challenges.
The shipment, consisting of 397 metric tons of fortified biscuits donated by Indonesia, was intended to support around 172,000 students in Afghanistan as part of a $3.5 million contribution from the Indonesian government to WFP’s school meals program.
According to the UN agency, the supplies began their journey at Indonesia’s Surabaya port before being shipped to Karachi, Pakistan. However, plans to transport the cargo overland into Afghanistan were disrupted when crossings between Pakistan and Afghanistan were closed amid tensions between the two countries.
WFP officials were forced to seek alternative routes to ensure the food reached vulnerable children without significant delays.
A second plan involving transport through the United Arab Emirates and Iran was later abandoned due to instability in the Middle East and disruptions affecting regional shipping routes.
Faced with mounting challenges, WFP logisticians developed a new overland corridor stretching from Dubai through Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Syria, Türkiye, Georgia, Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan before entering Afghanistan via the Torghundi border crossing.
The 21-truck convoy traveled thousands of kilometers across deserts, highways and ferry crossings, requiring customs clearances, security assessments and transport permits at multiple international borders.
“Hunger doesn’t wait for routes to reopen,” said Corinne Fleischer, Director of WFP Supply Chain and Delivery.
After weeks on the road, the convoy arrived in Kabul, where the biscuits were unloaded for distribution to schools in Ghor, Nuristan and Paktika provinces.
Abdul Ahad Monib, a WFP supply chain officer in Kabul, said the successful delivery reflected the organization’s determination to reach vulnerable communities despite difficult circumstances.
“For the children, it’s a packet of biscuits that helps them stay healthy,” Monib said. “For us, it’s a logistics feat.”
Afghanistan continues to face significant humanitarian challenges, including widespread poverty, food insecurity, natural disasters and declining international aid. For many students, WFP says the fortified biscuits provided through school feeding programs are among the most nutritious foods they receive each day.
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OCHA: 15.9 million Afghans face severe food insecurity ahead of winter
The agency said nearly one in three Afghans is facing severe hunger, warning that food insecurity could worsen further during the coming winter months.
The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) has warned that 15.9 million people in Afghanistan are expected to face crisis-level food insecurity or worse as winter approaches, raising concerns over the country’s worsening humanitarian situation.
In a statement posted on X, OCHA said that despite food being available in markets across Afghanistan, millions of people cannot afford to purchase it due to widespread poverty, economic hardship and limited household incomes.
The agency said nearly one in three Afghans is facing severe hunger, warning that food insecurity could worsen further during the coming winter months.
OCHA also raised concerns over child malnutrition, saying more than four million children aged between six months and five years could require treatment for malnutrition in 2027.
The UN agency stressed that humanitarian assistance remains critical to saving lives, but said addressing the crisis requires longer-term investment in livelihoods, essential services and economic opportunities.
OCHA called for urgent international support ahead of winter to help vulnerable families meet their basic needs and prevent further deterioration in food security.
The agency emphasized that combining immediate humanitarian assistance with sustained investment in communities’ resilience is essential to addressing Afghanistan’s ongoing hunger crisis and reducing the impact of future economic and humanitarian shocks.
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Afghanistan’s refugee minister meets new UNAMA chief over returnees, humanitarian aid
The minister further urged the United Nations to help provide essential services in settlements established for returning Afghan refugees.
Afghanistan’s Minister of Refugees and Repatriation, Mawlawi Abdul Kabir, has met with Rabab Fatima, the UN Secretary-General’s Special Representative and newly appointed head of the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA), to discuss the challenges facing returning Afghan refugees and the delivery of humanitarian assistance.
According to a statement from the Ministry of Refugees and Repatriation, the meeting focused on providing humanitarian support to vulnerable Afghans, ensuring permanent shelter, creating employment opportunities and facilitating the social reintegration of returnees.
Fatima reportedly assured the Afghan authorities that the United Nations would continue cooperation with them and support efforts to provide humanitarian assistance, sustainable housing and livelihood opportunities for returning refugees.
She also highlighted mobilizing humanitarian aid, expanding international engagement with Afghanistan and addressing human rights concerns as key priorities.
Abdul Kabir, meanwhile, said the Afghan government seeks positive relations with the international community based on the principles of Islamic Sharia, calling on other countries to respect Afghanistan’s Islamic system and territorial integrity.
He also said security had been established across the country and development projects were underway.
The minister further urged the United Nations to help provide essential services in settlements established for returning Afghan refugees.
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Fazlur Rehman calls for international probe into treatment of Afghan refugees in Pakistan
He emphasized the need for independent international monitoring to ensure that refugees’ concerns and rights receive appropriate attention.
Maulana Fazlur Rehman, chief of Pakistan’s Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F), has called on international organizations to investigate the treatment of Afghan refugees in Pakistan, urging them to visit the country and assess the situation firsthand.
His remarks come amid reports of police raids, harassment and administrative pressure on Afghan refugees, which have reportedly made daily life increasingly difficult for many Afghan families.
Fazlur Rehman urged international organizations to independently examine the situation and document the treatment of Afghan refugees by Pakistani police and government institutions.
He emphasized the need for independent international monitoring to ensure that refugees’ concerns and rights receive appropriate attention.
The treatment of Afghan refugees in Pakistan remains a humanitarian concern, particularly amid ongoing challenges related to their security, legal status and living conditions.
His call has renewed attention to the need for international oversight and the protection of Afghan refugees in line with humanitarian and human rights principles.
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