U.N. says Pakistan has food "emergency", but donors look elsewhere

Blackwater

Senior Member
Joined
Jan 9, 2012
Messages
21,157
Likes
12,211
(Reuters) - Hunger in Pakistan is at emergency levels after years of conflict and floods, but funding has dwindled as new crises such as Syria grab donors' attention, the United Nations food aid chief said on Sunday.

Fighting in tribal areas bordering Afghanistan compounded problems caused by three consecutive years of floods that destroyed crops and forced millions of people to temporarily abandon their homes.



Although most have now returned, about half of Pakistan's population still does not have secure access to enough food, up from a little over a third a decade ago, the U.N. World Food Programme (WFP) said. Fifteen percent of children are severely malnourished, and some 40 percent suffer from stunted growth.

"This is an emergency situation, both from the food security side as well as from the malnutrition side," WFP chief Ertharin Cousin told Reuters. "We need to raise the alarm."

At a centre for treating acute malnutrition in Pakistan's Swat Valley, visited by Cousin on Sunday, a young mother called Zainab clutched her underweight 2-month-old baby and waited for a high-nutrition food ration.

"When the area was evacuated, we left our cattle and our homes, when we came back our cattle were dead and our homes were destroyed," said Zainab, who wore a black burqa.

There is growing concern that international donors will lose interest in the unstable border areas after the withdrawal next year of U.S.-led foreign forces from Afghanistan.

Already, Cousin said, the rising cost of the refugee crisis in Syria meant it was harder to attract funds to Pakistan.

WFP's Syria-related operations currently cost $26 million a week, and are forecast to rise as high as $42 million a week by the end of the year, putting a strain on Western donors.

North Korea is even worse hit by funding shortages, Cousin said, partly due to a drop in donations noticed at the beginning of this year, when Pyongyang threatened to launch a nuclear attack on the United States.

"We are significantly under-funded in DPRK going into this lean season, and we are very concerned about what that means," said Cousin, who called off a visit to North Korea during the tensions in March. She said she still planned to visit.


U.N. says Pakistan has food emergency, but donors look elsewhere | Reuters
 

Ray

The Chairman
Professional
Joined
Apr 17, 2009
Messages
43,132
Likes
23,834
Let me give a Food Quote, as they give in Apollo Tyres" Highway on the Plate'.

"Ask not what you can do for your country. Ask what's for lunch."
 

Ray

The Chairman
Professional
Joined
Apr 17, 2009
Messages
43,132
Likes
23,834
WTF?

Grass is not nutritious enough? Too bad.
"I cook with wine, sometimes I even add it to the food.", so says Mian Nawaz Sharif.

He also says - We think sometimes that poverty is only being hungry, naked and homeless. The poverty of being unwanted, unloved and uncared for is the greatest poverty.

Like getting into a bleeding competition with a blood bank.

Pakistan not getting donors is the poverty that is even worse - being unwanted, unloved and uncared!

Sad!

Very sad!
 
Last edited:

marshal panda

Regular Member
Joined
Dec 19, 2010
Messages
167
Likes
56
Country flag
Funds may not be available for foodstuffs,but surely enough is there for airforce modernization !
 

Srinivas_K

Senior Member
Joined
Jun 17, 2009
Messages
7,417
Likes
12,935
Country flag
They have turned the Land of rivers which is blessed with good canal system into a hunger state, This is a classic example of misgoverning. The potential of Pakistan is such that its agriculture can support twice the size of its current population.

It rulers are more fond of getting aid and buying assets in England and Middle east.

Every prominent politician holds UK passport as a means of back up, when things go south in Pakistan they will escape to UK or Middle east. It is very hard for these guys to take responsibility and committed to their land.
 
Last edited:

rock127

Maulana Rockullah
Senior Member
Joined
Aug 12, 2009
Messages
10,569
Likes
25,230
Country flag
What happened to their "We would eat grass......"? :notsure:
 

Latest Replies

Global Defence

New threads

Articles

Top