United Nations Day, October 24, commemorates the entry into force of the UN Charter. A core Charter principle, international humanitarian cooperation, is embodied by the World Food Program (WFP), with its mission to provide “world food security.” The WFP is a testament to the best aspects of the UN that deserve to be honored today.
Analysis: The World Food Program (WFP) is the primary food assistance arm of the United Nations. Since its establishment in 1963, the WFP has fed millions in Somalia, Sudan, and other destitute and dangerous areas. Yet the agency is now facing perhaps its greatest challenge, with the intensifying humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan. As warplanes target Taliban and Al Qaeda terrorist installations, WFP staff continue in their mission to distribute food to the civilian population.
Despite a brief interruption at the start of the military campaign when cross-border food deliveries were suspended, WFP staff have overcome poor security and the absence of an internal distribution infrastructure to bring food aid to the Afghan people. In the last ten days WFP has delivered more than 4,000 tons across the Afghan border. The trucks have come from Iran, Turkmenistan, Tajikistan, and Pakistan, and destinations have included internally displaced persons (IDPs) camps in Herat and the drought-stricken provinces of Balkh and Faryab, where 400,000 Afghans languish with meager food supplies. At a press conference on 17 October, WFP Executive Director Catherine Bertini estimated that 52,000 tons of food per month were needed to prevent the starvation of an estimated six million Afghans in 15 provinces.
The missions have not been without peril. On 17 October, Taliban officials seized food warehouses in Kabul and Kandahar, and expelled local WFP staff. This is not the first time they have disrupted the WFP’s humanitarian efforts. In June 2001 the Taliban banned women from working in UN-administered bakeries, resulting in their temporary closure.
Though the onset of the harsh Afghan winter will limit the WFP’s efforts to feed the Afghan population, the international community should increase its support for this exemplary UN agency.
