U.N. warns it may have to cut food aid to Afghans

The United Nations said Thursday that a funding shortfall may force it to cut food aid to some 2.7 million Afghans, warning that feeding reductions could further destabilize Afghanistan.

Photo: U.N. warns it may have to cut food aid to Afghans

The world body said it will lack 49,000 tons of food aid out of a total 106,000 required tons unless donor countries make up a US$31 million ( Ђ 26 million) funding shortfall before winter, and cautioned that aid cutbacks may lead to greater insecurity in a country already struggling with a reinvigorated insurgency.

"Major reductions in our operations will not only endanger the health of millions of Afghans but also the country's fragile recovery and many of the gains made over recent years," Anthony Banbury, the U.N. World Food Programme's regional director for Asia, told reporters in Kabul.

"By undermining development, severe cuts could foster greater insecurity, something that many donors are spending vast amounts trying to prevent," reports the AP.

I.L.