KATHMANDU, 26, December, 2007 (UN WFP) - The United Nations Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) has allocated US$1 million towards the UN World Food Programme's efforts to provide life-saving food aid and reconstruction support to more than 1.2 million conflict-affected people in Nepal.
"Despite the signing of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement over one year ago, many Nepali people are still struggling to recover from the impacts of the eleven-year conflict and ongoing instability. We recognize that many vulnerable communities, often living in remote areas, have yet to receive desperately needed support to begin the recovery process. The need for additional humanitarian support is evident. I was pleased to endorse WFP's request to access Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) resources," stated Matthew Kahane, Humanitarian and Resident Coordinator for the United Nations in Nepal.
The CERF is administered by OCHA, and funded through voluntary contributions from governments, NGOs and the private sector. The purpose of this fund is to provide seed money to humanitarian crisis in order to encourage contributions and support from the global donor community. WFP's peace and recovery programme is the first project to receive CERF funds in Nepal. The grant will support WFP food aid and reconstruction activities for nearly 40,000 people.
"The Humanitarian Coordinator's office and the OCHA team in Nepal have played a tremendous role in supporting this rapid-response grant application. With these funds, we will be able to rapidly expand our operations to meet the needs of food insecure Nepali families struggling to recover from the conflict," explained Dominique Hyde, WFP Deputy Country Director in Nepal.
WFP's US$49 million programme represents one of the largest UN initiatives to support the people of Nepal during the immediate post-conflict period. The aim of the programme is to provide the most conflict-affected communities with quick-impact economic opportunities and local assets that will serve as a tangible peace dividend, and contribute to longer-term food security in Nepal.
WFP will provide food aid to some of the most conflict-affected communities in 28 districts across Nepal. Programme activities will focus on rebuilding and construction of critical infrastructure, return and reintegration, and non-formal civic education.
To date, WFP has received US$13.5 million for its peace and recovery project. This amount provides assistance for only 30 percent of the most conflict-affected people.
"With seventy percent of the project under-funded it means that more than 900,000 conflictaffected people have yet to receive vital recovery assistance one year after the end of the conflict. We urge donors to contribute to WFP's peace and recovery activities so that we can help these families rebuild their lives and enable them to become active participants in Nepal's emerging democracy," continued Hyde.
WFP inquiries: Please contact WFP Deputy Country Representative Dominique Hyde or Communications Officer, Heather Sutliff, (heather.sutliff@wfp.org) at 554-2607 or 553-569.