WFP Executive Director Ertharin Cousin claimed that the WFP is looking for additional partners and funds for delivering food and other assistance to the quake victims in Nepal.
Speaking at a press meet before concluding her Nepal visit, Cousin said that delivery of relief materials should be carried out within a few weeks' window period before the monsoon season starts."We have a goal of 1.5 million people, we will continue to assist to ensure that we are meeting the needs of all those who require food assistance," Cousin told reporters. "We're racing against time. We've a lot of work to do before the monsoon season starts."
WFP has distributed food to around 80,000 people in Dhading, Gorkha, Nuwakot, Rasuwa and Sindhupalchok. The WFP Nepal office has claimed that enough food has been dispatched so far for 250,000 people and more people will be assisted in coming days.
During her three-day visit to Nepal WFP Executive Director Cousin held a meeting with Prime Minister Sushil Koirala, Minister for Commerce and Supplies Sunil Bahadur Thapa among other government officials. She claimed that PM Koirala refuted reports that no I/NGOs have been allowed to distribute relief aid to the victims. "An operation of this scope and complexity requires more financial support to see this through," she said. WFP has appealed for US$116.5 million to provide food for 1.4 million people over the next three months.
During her three-day visit Cousin visited quake hit districts and Humanitarian Staging Area (HAS), established by the WFP with the United Kingdom Department for International Development (DFID), near the international airport in Kathmandu, before the disaster struck.
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