PESHAWAR: The World Food Programme has agreed to offer support to the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government for improving nutrition, livelihoods and educational facilities, reducing disaster and climate change risks, and ensuring emergency preparedness and response in the province’s tribal districts.

The WFP and Fata secretariat signed a memorandum of understanding in this respect here on Tuesday.

The MoU was signed by Fata additional chief secretary retired captain Sikandar Qayum and WFP country director Finbarr Curran, said a statement issued here.

Inks MoU with Fata secretariat for the purpose

The statement said the MoU aligned the WFP’s activities to three-year Fata transition plan, 10-year socio-economic development plan, multi-sectoral nutrition strategy and Pakistan’s Vision 2025.

It added that under the MoU, the WFP would continue its community-based livelihoods and disaster risk reduction and management support to the crisis-affected population and thus, helping meet their immediate food and cash needs and enhancing social cohesion.

The statement said the disaster risk reduction interventions would increase the government’s capacity to mitigate risks and improve its resilience to fight disasters and thus, ensuring effective response to calamities in the country.

It added that the WFP’s Food Assistance for Asset intervention would help restore livelihood assets and prepare communities for impending disasters to improve food security and build resilience. The livelihood interventions include on-farm and off-farm activities.

The statement said the disaster risk reduction and management interventions included structural and non-structural activities.

It added that the capacity augmentation and skill enhancement of the communities would be carried out with a special focus on the women’s participation.

The statement quoted the 2017 Fata Vulnerability Assessment Report as revealing that 36 per cent of households in KP’s tribal districts have moderate-to-severe food insecurity and 16 per cent severe one.

It added that the 2011 National Nutrition Survey showed 58 per cent of stunting (chronic malnutrition) rates in children aged below five years in the country though 19.5 per cent of acute malnutrition was considered critical by the World Health Organisation.

The statement said education and early dropout rate among school children were also challenging issues in tribal districts, which were part of the erstwhile Fata until recently.

It said under the MoU, the WFP would continue its education support programme to help increase enrolment and retention rates among school children. The programmes will leverage existing social protection systems and will help in raising nutrition-related awareness among students and communities.

“The WFP has collaborated with the erstwhile Fata secretariat since 2008 and has successfully launched many initiatives to improve food security amongst the vulnerable populations in the area,” said WFP country director Finbarr Curran.

He said his organisation would continue extending technical and operational support to Pakistan for achieving the targets of SDGs through medium and long-term development plans.

Published in Dawn, September 26th, 2018