Attachments
In Numbers
1.47 million people food insecure 180,000 hungry people in need of food assistance
325 metric tons of fortified rice delivered to date
4,930 households — 24,650 people— reached with each household receiving 70 kilogram rations of rice lasting 6 weeks Photo: A family receives fortified rice in Pilikambi Rural LLG.
WFP/Mats Persson.
Highlights
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Despite the decline of El Niño, 180,000 people remain hungry from agricultural loss following drought and periodic frost.
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WFP is providing fortified rice and technical assistance to supplement National Disaster Centre (NDC) and international relief efforts.
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On 06 June, WFP began distributions to the Highlands Region, reaching 24,650 people in Pilikambi Local Level Government (LLG) as of 17 June.
Situation Update
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Communities of Papua New Guinea have been suffering from drought and periodic frost conditions caused by the El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO) phenomenon since mid-2015. These events have seriously disrupted food production and livelihoods in the area and have led to widespread food and water shortages.
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An estimated 1.47 million people in Papua New Guinea are food insecure, of which 180,000 are severely food insecure and require food assistance in the country, specifically in the most severely affected Local Level Governments (LLGs)—Kandep, Pilikambi, Upper Wage, and Wage Rural—in Enga and Hela Provinces.
WFP Response
Food and Nutrition Assistance
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Unfavourable weather conditions have hampered the ability of many families to harvest staple food crops such as sweet potato (kaukau) for their families.
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In cooperation with the Government, WFP will offer fortified rice to 180,000 hungry people throughout the country as part of its Emergency Operation (EMOP), launched on 15 April.
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On 06 June, WFP commenced food distribution in Pilikambi Rural LLG in the Highlands Region in partnership with CARE. By 17 June, WFP had reached 4,930 households (24,650 people) with a 70 kg ration lasting six weeks.
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WFP, with assistance from partners CARE and the Church Partnership Programme (CPP), continues to assess where the hungriest people in the Highlands and Lowlands Regions live and the best ways to reach them.