Attachments
In Numbers
574 mt of food assistance distributed
US$6.2 million cash-based transfers completed
US$30.6 million six months (March-August 2023) net funding requirements
876,964 people assisted in February 2023
Operational Updates
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Since August 2022, WFP has provided 3.4 million floodaffected people in Balochistan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), Punjab and Sindh provinces with 77,445 mt of inkind food and US$19.6 million in cash-based transfers (CBT). WFP faces a cumulative shortfall of US$58 million for CBT and US$22.7 million for nutrition interventions under its ongoing flood response. Despite ongoing humanitarian needs, WFP was compelled to reduce its humanitarian assistance from mid-February 2023 due to funding constraints.
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While WFP successfully delivered humanitarian relief to flood-affected communities, the food security situation has continued to deteriorate. An additional 1.1 million people are likely to slip from Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) Phase 3 (crisis) to Phase 4 (emergency), increasing the total number of people in IPC Phase 4 to 5.1 million between September 2022 to March 2023. An additional US$14.4 million is required to meet the basic humanitarian needs of the additional 1.1 million people. Timely funding and consistent humanitarian support is urgently required to prevent further food insecurity.
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According to WFP's market monitoring in February 2023, headline inflation based on the Consumer Price Index (CPI) increased to 27.5 percent, representing an increase of 27.5 percent year-on-year, the highest rate of inflation in 48 years (since 1975). The CPI food inflation increased in January 2023 by 42.94 percent year-on-year. National and international factors will likely ensure that prices remain high over the coming months.
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The high prevalence of wasting among children under five in Pakistan remains a persistent concern, with up to five million children at risk. According to WFP monitoring data, recent floods have led to a 53 percent increase in new malnutrition cases from July 2022 to January 2023, amongst children enrolled in the 50 pilot facilitation centres (FCs) of the Benazir Nashonuma Programme (BNP). The treatment of Moderate and Acute Malnutrition (MAM) to prevent the progression to Severe Acute Malnutrition (SAM), requires urgent mobilisation of additional resources.
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Given the trend towards increased post-flood global acute malnutrition rates, WFP is working with UNICEF to provide 141,904 children and Pregnant and Lactating Women (PLW) with treatment for MAM in Balochistan and Sindh provinces. WFP has implemented a Therapeutic Supplementary Feeding Programme (TSFP) under the Community-Based Management of Acute Malnutrition (CMAM) compendium of services in Sukkur and Qambar Shahdad Kot districts of Sindh and will expand to include Tharparkar district in Sindh, as well Sobhatpur, Naseerabad, Jaffarabad and Lasbela in Balochistan.
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WFP participated in the ‘Resilient Sindh Conference’ in Karachi held on 8 February 2023; the conference served as an opportunity to showcase the Government of Sindh's strategic priorities for resilient recovery and launch of the Sindh People's Housing for Flood Affectees (SPHF). The Conference also aimed to secure development partners’ support for long-term climate resilience and adaptation in Sindh. WFP will continue to support the Government of Sindh with the rehabilitation of the food system infrastructure, nutrition strengthening, disaster risk reduction, and climate-resilient livelihood programmes.
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Under the nationwide stunting prevention programme and BNP, WFP provided 462,266 PLW and children under two years (including 0-6 months children) with Specialized Nutritious Food (SNF) and cash stipends.
The programme is currently implemented through 423 fully operational FCs in 155 districts, across the country, and aims to expand support to 1.7 million PLW and children to June 2024 in all districts across the country.
A total of 45,000 individuals have graduated from the programme. -
On 9 February 2023, WFP and the Government of KP’s Food Department inaugurated a state-of-the-art wheat storage facility in Malakand. The facility was built by WFP in line with its implementation of the new Country Strategic Plan (CSP) 2023 – 2027 and includes a testing laboratory and training facility to strengthen the wheat storage management capacities of Food Department staff and other partners. The facility is part of an effort to strengthen wheat management across the province and will help the Food Department balance the supply and demand of wheat flour to safeguard the interests of growers and consumers.
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WFP continues to facilitate the transport of food commodities from Pakistan to Afghanistan, as part of its support to the ongoing humanitarian response in Afghanistan. In February 2023, 10,674 mt of procured food was dispatched to Afghanistan, increasing the total amount of locally and internationally produced commodities dispatched to 412,334 mt (valued at US$183.2 million) with a transportation cost of US$25.6 million since August 2021. In addition, 6,275 mt of international food commodities cleared in Karachi were dispatched to Afghanistan or stored in WFP Pakistan’s warehouses, resulting in a total of 191,847 mt transferred since August 2021.