United States Providing Additional Emergency Food Assistance

September 24, 2010

Islamabad - The U.S. announced today an additional Rs 916 million ($10.7 million) in grants to provide vouchers for emergency food needs in flood-affected areas. The vouchers are a component of the U.S. Agency for International Development's (USAID) Food for Peace program.

Two separate grants, of Rs 754 million ($8.8 million) and Rs 162 million ($1.9 million), will enable USAID's partners to reach an additional 350,000 people whose lives have been disrupted by the recent monsoon flooding.  These vouchers will encourage local food purchases, reduce food insecurity and reinforce the merchant and commercial food market system.

The U.S. is providing more than Rs 29.5 billion ($345 million) in emergency humanitarian assistance to the people of Pakistan.  The U.S. also is providing other civilian and military in-kind assistance in the form of halal meals, pre-fabricated steel bridges and other infrastructure support, as well as air support to and within Pakistan to transport goods and rescue people, valued at approximately Rs 5 billion ($59 million).