The Government of France has provided USD 400,000 for food aid programmes in draught-hit districts in Nepal.

The grant assistance will be spent through the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP).

Commenting on the assistance, French Ambassador to Nepal, Michel Jolivet, said, “After the renovation of historical buildings in Panauti in the 90’s and the recent Food Security Programme for Nepal (FSPN) which financed 17 agricultural development projects, this new Food Aid is the logical continuation of more than 10 years of our support to poor communities in Nepal,”

In June 2006, WFP started emergency food distributions to people living in Mid and Far-Western Nepal whose food supplies had dwindled to critical levels following prolonged drought. According to the WFP, many remote communities continue to face food shortages following continued poor crop production due to drought and natural disasters.

“We are very thankful to the people of France for their support to WFP’s efforts to continue food aid to communities struggling to survive through years of drought. In many ways this is a forgotten crisis and it is very important when countries like France take action to focus attention on this problem,” stated Richard Ragan, WFP Country Representative in Nepal.

WFP has provided over 300,000 people with 4,500 metric tons of food aid in order to bridge the gap between families’ basic food needs until the next harvest. Food aid is distributed under “food for work” mechanism, and over 600 activities such as mule trail construction, small scale irrigation, and school rehabilitation projects have been completed.

At a cost of US$13.7 million, WFP has been providing emergency food aid to drought-affected communities in 11 districts in Mid- and Far-Western Nepal since June 2006. Donors have contributed nearly US$ 11 million towards the operation.