The UN World Food Programme (WFP) has announced that it has received a contribution of approximately $28.8 million from the government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, adding that it is estimated to help around 650,000 people to get through the harsh winter in Afghanistan.

According to WFP, after having struggled through a year of unprecedented economic hardship and environmental disasters like drought, earthquakes and flooding, the already dire situation for many Afghan families is expected to further deteriorate in the coming months.

WFP has started ramping up assistance across the country as millions of families have almost no way to cope with another harsh winter.

“This latest life-saving support from the UK is estimated to help around 650,000 people to get through the harsh winter in Afghanistan through the World Food Programme, with food for the most vulnerable and those living in remote areas,” said UK Minister of State for Middle East, South Asia and the UN Lord (Tariq) Ahmad.

“The UK is taking a leading role in the humanitarian response in Afghanistan and has provided GBP286 million of aid to the country this year, making it the UK’s biggest bilateral aid programme.”

With the latest contribution, WFP Afghanistan has by now received GBP184 million from FCDO since November 2021. It will enable WFP to provide food and nutrition support to 400,000 severely food insecure people through in-kind food distributions and 250,000 people with monthly cash transfers that go directly to families to help them cover their food needs in areas where markets are functional. In total, WFP will distribute 16,000 mt of nutritionally balanced food commodities and US$ 9.3 million in cash.

“WFP is one of the last remaining barriers between Afghanistan and absolute desperation and hunger,” said WFP Afghanistan’s Country Director Mary-Ellen McGroarty. “The British Government has been a long-standing partner of WFP. We thank the UK for standing with the people of Afghanistan. The latest contribution will allow us to help tens of thousands of vulnerable families in the coming months when hunger bites hardest.”

Since the beginning of this year, WFP has reached 21.9 million people with emergency food and nutrition assistance, cash-based transfers and livelihoods support. Racing time, WFP is already prepositioning a planned 150,000 mt of food and nutritious supplies in strategic locations across the country before snow and ice make many communities inaccessible. This will ensure WFP to continue reaching vulnerable communities in remote areas throughout winter.