Urgent UN food aid to drought-hit Nepal

NEPAL: The United Nations World Food Programme has started distributing emergency food to more than 225,000 people in central and western Nepal hit by the worst drought in decades.

The agency plans to distribute 800 tonnes of foodgrains in 10 of the impoverished country's 75 districts over the next three months, an official said late on Tuesday.

"Food insecurity is already a fact of life in these districts, and we are very concerned that effects of the drought will exacerbate what is already a precarious situation," Richard Ragan, country director, said in a statement.

The food aid is intended to support some 225,000 people in the mid and far west regions of the country.

"Many of the target areas are located in some of Nepal's most remote locations and could require very expensive airlift operations," the statement said.

At least 10 districts had been hit by a lack of rain this season, and needed short term assistance until the next harvest, the statement said.

The programme will last three months and initially 800 tonnes of rice will be sent to the affected regions. Nepal is one of the world's 10 poorest countries and receives more than 60 percent of the cost of its economic development in international aid, including from the U.N.

Many of Nepal's villages are located in remote mountains and foodgrains would have to be flown in, the WFP's Ragan said.

"Families in these areas are struggling to find enough food to feed their children by selling household goods and livestock," the official said. Kathmandu, Wednesday,Reuters, AFP