WFP Appeals For USD 18.9 Million Urgent Aid For Herat Earthquake Victims

The World Food Programme (WFP) announced that it needs 18.9 million dollars in emergency aid to assist more than 100,000 people affected by the Herat earthquake.

On Wednesday, this organisation said that it has to use the current extremely limited budget to provide food aid to the earthquake victims.

This UN-affiliated organisation added that it is trying to send emergency food aid to 100,000 people in the region.

In a statement, WFP wrote that disasters like earthquakes put a lot of pressure on communities that were living in absolute poverty.

As a result of the earthquake in Herat on October 7, more than two thousand people died and many villages were razed to the ground.

Following the deadly earthquake, Herat province and its neighbouring areas in other provinces of Afghanistan witnessed aftershocks in recent days, which caused fear and concern among the citizens.

WFP added that approximately 25,000 buildings have been destroyed and survivors are currently sleeping in tents next to the rubble of their homes and are afraid of more earthquakes and aftershocks.

According to UN officials, more than 90% of those killed in the earthquake were women and children.

The earthquakes occurred during the day when majority of the men in the area were working outside their homes.

At the start of this year, this UN organisation had to decrease the number of families receiving their aid. Consequently, severe funding shortages lead to the exclusion of 10 million people across Afghanistan from receiving essential food assistance, putting their lives at risk.

The WFP has also said that it needs USD 400 million to provide food aid to vulnerable communities in Afghanistan next winter.

This organisation has said that it will allocate food aid to support communities that need urgent help due to snow and landslides, as well as to Afghan women.

In recent days, a number of countries announced their readiness to help the Herat earthquake victims.