§ Mrs. SpelmanTo ask the Secretary of State for International Development what assistance her Department has provided to the Jawand district of Afghanistan since 11 September. [34647]
§ Hilary BennDFID assistance for emergency food provision in Afghanistan is channelled through the UN World Food Programme (WFP), which has received £6 million from my Department since September 2001. Needs have been met in most areas, but there remain pockets of unmet need in places difficult to access due to poor weather and insecurity. WFP is deploying helicopters into the country to assess the condition of hungry families as quickly as possible in such isolated areas, including Jawand district in Badghis province. This is one of the most seriously drought-affected and inaccessible areas, where WFP reports that food access is precarious.
349WBecause the area is extremely difficult to access in the winter, six months' worth of wheat, or 300 kilograms per family, were distributed in Siah Sangh town in Jawand district in early January. WFP is gearing up to move in 350W other food items as soon as possible. By early January, 5,000 tons of food had been delivered to Jawand province, to a total of 15,000 households, or roughly 90,000 people.