The United Nations World Food Programme has delivered emergency food aid to 18,200 people (2,600 households) affected by the devastating earthquake that struck southeast Afghanistan last week, WFP said in a statement on Monday.
The 5.9 magnitude quake killed around 800 people, injured 1,500 others, and destroyed hundreds of homes in Paktika and Khost provinces on 22 June, with aftershocks still jolting Giyan (Patika).
‘’This is an emergency on top of an emergency," said Gordon Craig, Deputy Country Representative for WFP Afghanistan.
"Nineteen million people are already facing acute hunger across the country, a severe drought and crippling economic crisis is pushing people to the brink. And now thousands have lost their homes after the powerful earthquake and desperately need food assistance and shelter," Craig went on.
"We are appealing to the international community not to forget the people of Afghanistan,’’ Craig underlined.
Rome-based WFP has provided High Energy Biscuits and rations of wheat flour, salt, vegetable oil and pulses to survivors of the earthquake, said the statement.
Distributions across both provinces are continuing, while needs assessment teams are gathering information in quake-hit areas of Afghanistan to uncover the full extent of the damage and determine priority humanitarian needs, according to WFP.
A logistics working group led by WFP is working with UNOPS to conduct a road assessment in 3 districts, according to the statement.
