India signed an agreement with the United Nation’s World Food Programme (WFP) for the distribution of 50,000 tonnes of wheat that it has committed to sending Afghanistan as part of humanitarian assistance.

What is WFP?

• The WFP is the food-assistance branch of the United Nations (UN).
• It is the world’s largest humanitarian organization focused on hunger and food security, and the largest provider of school meals.
• Founded in 1961, it is headquartered in Rome and has offices in 80 countries.
• In addition to emergency food relief, WFP offers technical assistance and development aid, such as building capacity for emergency preparedness and response, managing supply chains and logistics, etc.
• The agency is also a major provider of direct cash assistance and medical supplies and provides passenger services for humanitarian workers.

Feats achieved

• As of 2020, it served 115.5 million people in 80-plus countries, the largest since 2012.
• The WFP was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2020 for its efforts to provide food assistance in areas of conflict and to prevent the use of food as a weapon of war and conflict.

WFP in Afghanistan

• The wheat will be taken through Pakistan to the Afghan border crossing and handed over to WFP officials in Kandahar.
• The WFP runs its own logistics network inside Afghanistan, partnering with civil society groups.

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