The United Nations World Food Programme in Nepal welcomed donations of US$ 617,000 from the Netherlands and US$410,000 from Switzerland to support WFP’s efforts to provide food supplies to over 108,000 Bhutanese refugees living in seven camps in eastern Nepal. The combined donation will secure enough food resources to feed all of the refugees for over one month. The donations were received in response to WFP’s continued efforts to raise desperately needed funds from the international community in order provide monthly food rations to the refugees in 2007. Under their current status, refugees are restricted from engaging in economic activities outside the camps and from owning land – making
humanitarian assistance, like food aid provided by WFP, critical to fulfill their basic needs. “These donations could not have come at a more critical time as we were facing resource shortfalls that may have required food rationing for the months of April and May, placing the health and safety of the refugees at serious risk,” stated Richard Ragan, WFP’s Country Representative in Nepal. “Also let me make clear that recent reports that WFP is cutting rations to pressure refugees to consider 3rd country repatriation are completely inaccurate. We have for the last 16 years of feeding refugees in Nepal depended on the generosity of donor countries and today the country faces a number of new challenges, which has an impact on our ability to raise funds. We remain hopeful, however, that the donors will continue their support to the Bhutanese in Nepal.” Since arriving in Nepal in 1991, the international community has consistently provided enough funds to WFP for the refugees to have a full compliment of food. To date, this program remains one of the most supported refugee feeding activities in the world. “Despite these contributions, we still need over US$7 million for this year, or approximately US$1 million a month,
to provide adequate food to the over 108,000 Bhutanese refugees that are completely dependent upon WFP’s humanitarian assistance to meet their basic requirements, “continued Ragan. WFP has been providing essential food aid to the Bhutanese refugees since 1992 at the request of the Government of Nepal and in close coordination with the UN refugee agency, UNHCR.
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Publisher:
WFP
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(2007
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Type / Script:
Press Release
in English
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Keywords:
FOOD SUPPLIES, FOOD AID, SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT, RESOURCE SHORTFALL, INTERNATIONAL RELIEF, REPATRIATION, INCOME GENERATING ACTIVITIES, DONOR COUNTRIES, HEALTH AND SAFETY, SERIOUS RISK, HUMANITARIAN ASSISTANCE, BHUTANESE REFUGEE, SECURE FOOD, REFUGEE, DONATIONS, FOOD RATION
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Thematic Group:
WFP
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Food and Emergency humanitarian logistict support
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Thesaurus:
02.04.00
- Development
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Reference Link:
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