The WFP has been operating in Afghanistan since 1963 and provides food aid in all 34 provinces. Within the framework of the PRRO to strengthen resilience and food security of vulnerable groups in Afghanistan, WFP continues to respond to a variety of localized emergencies by providing basic food rations to targeted beneficiaries.

Under the relief component, WFP assistance includes the provision of food to families affected by natural disasters, displacement and urban poverty, in addition to returnee populations, contributing to Millennium Development Goal 1 by ensuring that food-insecure groups can meet basic needs during times of crisis. WFP also provides supplementary food to malnourished children, pregnant and lactating women.

The recovery component comprises two sub-sections: sustainable livelihoods, environment and natural resources; and education and health. These activities contribute to MDGs 2 and 3 by supporting increased primary school enrolment and attendance, particularly for girls in areas where the gender gap is very high and promotes flour fortification activities. WFP also supports communities in efforts to restore the environment through the establishment of nurseries, production of tree saplings and planting trees throughout the country. In addition, WFP provides food assistance during tuberculosis(TB) treatment to improve the nutritional status of patients and to encourage completion of the treatment.

The PRRO also focuses on the capacity-building of government and cooperating partners by providing training and equipment, and by sponsoring national officers to work at the Ministry of Education and Public Health. The operation supported and strengthened the capacities of the Government to prepare for, assess and respond to acute hunger resulting from disasters, and to develop the capacity to predict and reduce hunger through local food security systems.

The World Food Programme has helped deliver an estimated total of 275,000 metric tonnes of food to nine million Afghans.

Canada's 2011 objective is for humanitarian assistance to be accessible to the most vulnerable people, including Afghan refugees, and to returnees and internally displaced persons.

From October 1 to December 31, 2009, Canadian funding helped the World Food Programme distribute more than 95,000 tonnes of food to Afghans in need.

Canada’s contribution has helped to achieve the following significant results to date:

• A total of 6,556,047 including 3,158,159 female internally displaced people, returnees, malnourished children, pregnant and lactating women, food for work participants and TB patients were assisted during 2010.
• Primary school-age children were targeted in food-insecure areas with low enrolment and attendance. WFP also specifically targets girls' enrolment in districts with a high gender gap in access to primary school. A take-home ration and 100 grams of biscuits per child day or an on-site ration of different commodities (wheat, pulses, vegetable oil, salt and micronutrient powder) per day were distributed to attending children. In addition WFP provides 3.7 litres of oil per girl per month attending 80 percent of the month for the duration of the school year.
• Under health and nutrition activities, WFP provided supplementary food to 622,623 children under 5 (to address moderate malnutrition issues) and to 53,426 pregnant and lactating women. Food incentives were provided to 174,690 TB patients.

• World Food Programme