More relief assistance from UNWFP

Lakshmi de Silva

The United Nations World Food Program (UNWFP) has agreed to increase relief assistance for the low income communities from US $ 117 million to US $ 135 million with the influx of large numbers of internally displaced persons of the North, Nation Building and Estate Infrastructure Development Ministry Project Director R.H.W.A. Kumarasiri told the Daily News yesterday.

WFP is assisting the Nation Building Ministry in Jaffna, Kilinochchi, Mullaitivu, Mannar, Vavuniya, Trincomalee, Puttalam, Pollonnaruwa, Batticaloa, Ampara, Moneragala, and Hambantota. There are over 433,000 beneficiaries, he said.

WFP’s largest operation in Sri Lanka started in the aftermath of the December 26, 2004 tsunami, assisting over 918,000 beneficiaries. It has also been assisting the schoolchildren mid-day meal program in collaboration with the Education Ministry since August 2003. A total number of 393,000 students from 1,615 schools benefit from this program.

WFP assisted schoolchildren feeding programs had improved the nutrition status of schoolchildren of underprivileged groups while the attendance of the children to school had increased while these children had obtained better results, he said.

Not only schoolchildren but also the mother and child nutrition program and food for work and food for training programs too had improved the quality of life of underprivileged communities in these districts, Kumarasiri said.

These communities in remote districts such as Batticaloa, Ampara and Trincomalee were provided with water pumps for irrigation, agricultural equipment, seeds and fertilizer.

The number of beneficiaries were 50,000. They had improved their economic status and their agricultural production had increased in the Eastern Province under the Negenahira Udanaya. Now only around 8,800 were in the program as the others whose economic status was improved have been discontinued from the WFP assistance program as they could now continue their occupations without outside assistance, he noted.