Pakistan floods threaten Afghanistan food supply, UN expresses concern over food security

The United Nations expresses concern over the flood situation and food security as Pakistan’s floods threaten Afghanistan’s food supply

Image Credit: Reuters; representational purposes only

Geneva: The United Nations on Friday expressed concern over the worsening flood situation in Pakistan as it will threaten the food supply to crisis-ridden Afghanistan. The devastating floods in Pakistan will place huge strains on efforts to get food into neighbouring Afghanistan to relieve its catastrophic humanitarian crisis, said the UN, reported Geo News. The UN`s World Food Programme said much of the food aid transited through Pakistan by road - a network that has been severely affected by the worst floods in the country`s history.

"We have focused absolutely on the needs of the people in Pakistan right now but the ramifications of what we`re experiencing here go wider," said WFP`s Pakistan country director Chris Kaye.

"We are becoming very, very concerned about the overall food security, not only in Pakistan in the immediate and medium term but also for what it`s going to imply for the operations in Afghanistan," added Kaye.

Large amounts of its food enter via the port of Karachi. "Pakistan provides a vital supply route into Afghanistan," he said. "With roads that have been washed away, that presents us with a major logistical challenge," added Kaye.

"WFP has procured over 320,000 metric tonnes in the past year to support operations in Afghanistan. The floods in Pakistan are going to put a huge dent in that capability." He said there was a "major problem" in restoring agricultural production in Pakistan to feed its people and continue supplying food to Afghanistan, reported Geo News.

A further issue was that the wheat harvest was being stored in flooded areas of Pakistan, and "a large proportion of the wheat has been washed away". He said the food security situation in Pakistan was "grave" even before the floods, with 43 per cent of people food insecure and the country ranking at 92 out of 116 on the Global Hunger Index.

Monsoon rains have submerged a third of Pakistan, claiming more than a thousand lives since June and unleashing powerful floods that have washed away swathes of vital crops and damaged or destroyed more than a million homes. Officials have blamed climate change, which is increasing the frequency and intensity of extreme weather around the world.

Afghanistan`s 38 million people face a desperate humanitarian crisis - aggravated after billions of dollars in assets were frozen and foreign aid dried up when the Taliban took over a year ago.