WFP appeals for $27.5 million to support Afghan returnees

The World Food Programme (WFP) in Afghanistan has said it urgently needs $27.5 million to support refugees returning from Pakistan.

WFP in a statement warned that with the harsh winter just around the corner and a significant funding deficit for the operation, assistance to returnees hangs in the balance

WFP has been forced to cut 10 million people from its emergency food assistance and can now only support one in five of those in need of support to survive.

“The situation is particularly dire as the harsh winter is only weeks away and the country is still reeling from devastating earthquakes, a battered economy and a worsening climate crisis,” WFP Afghanistan Country Director Hsiao-Wei Lee said.

Most families crossing the border are arriving hungry, desperate and in need of immediate support. WFP said it continues to supply all arriving families with fortified biscuits and cash to buy food or other basic necessities, adding that it has assisted 250,000 people this month.

“We urgently need $27.5 million to support one million returnees from Pakistan arriving in Afghanistan and help them get through the winter,” Lee said.

“These families arrive at the worst of times and face a bleak future in a country where one third of the people do not know where their next meal will come from,” she said.