World Food Programme Fighting Hunger Worldwide

One of the most important events in 2010 on the Tajikistan calendar was the High Level International Water Conference held in the capital Dushanbe from 8 to 9 June 2010. The conference was staged at the mid-point of the UN International Decade for Action "Water for Life" (2005-2015) to review progress made on water resource management. WFP was invited to participate in one of six roundtables at the conference, which was opened by President Emomali Rahmon and featured an address by Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Here is the transcript of the WFP speech, given by Deputy Country Director Heather Hill.

The United Nations World Food Programme said today it was appealing for an extra US$8.3 million to help feed hundreds of thousands of people in Tajikistan suffering from food shortages amid soaring food and fuel prices, in the coldest winter the country has seen for three decades and an unprecedented energy crisis.

WFP has welcomed the final shipment of a US$2 million package of food aid donated by Russia to support the agency’s operations in Tajikistan.

FAO has called for a renewed commitment to guarantee the right to food for the world's hundreds of millions of hungry people.

Read UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon message to mark World Food Day, which this year promotes the Right to Food.

WFP has welcomed the arrival of a US$6 million contribution from the Government of the Russian Federation to its Protracted Relief and Recovery Operation (PRRO) in Tajikistan.

Kabul - WFP is providing emergency food aid to devastated communities in Afghanistan\'s northeastern province Badakshan, where a hailstorm and heavy flooding have so far killed an estimated 29 people, injured 40 and destroyed over 1,000 homes.

Dushanbe - WFP welcomes a cash contribution of US$950,000 (JPY100 million) from the Japanese Government to assist vulnerable and food insecure households in Tajikistan.