Tuesday saw the announcement by the United Nations’ World Food Programme (WFP) that Japan had contributed an extra $5 million to the Afghan emergency reaction.
In April, according to the WFP, 9 million people could run out of food assistance; as a result, Japan’s input is crucial.
“Over the past few years, the Government of Japan has consistently and vehemently backed the Afghan people and WFP. According to Ambassador Takashi Okada, Japan views providing nutritional relief as one of the key steps towards achieving human security and sustainable growth.
In addition to thanking the Japanese government for this latest donation, the organization’s country director in Afghanistan, Hsiao-Wei Lee, noted that “catastrophic hunger knocks on Afghanistan’s doors and unless humanitarian support is sustained, hundreds of thousands more Afghans will need assistance to survive.”
“Nearly 20 million Afghans do not know where their next meal will come from,” the statement continued. They are six million people away from going hungry. To help 13 million people in April and for the following six months, WFP desperately requires US$93 million and US$800 million.
In 2022, Japan was one of the top ten contributors to the WFP in Afghanistan. According to the statement, Japan has contributed $96.57 million, including this most recent donation, to the WFP’s relief endeavour in Afghanistan over the last five years.
Japan provided the World Food Programme in Afghanistan $12,4 million at the beginning of 2023, allowing WFP to provide 330,000 people with food assistance and dietary services that could save their lives.