Scores of countries needing humanitarian aid may not get it as the United Nations World Food Program (WFP) issued a critical warning on Friday saying that it may soon have “no choice” but to suspend “most” of its critical aid flights due to a lack of funding.
In a statement, the UN Food Agency said it operated such flights to some 132 countries in many parts of the world in the midst of travel bans and closed borders that caused logistics nightmares to deliver humanitarian aid and staff.
Since 1 May, the organization has completed 375 emergency cargo and passenger flights. “more than 2,500 responders from more than 80 aid organisations flown to destinations where their assistance is urgently needed.”
WFP spokesperson, Elisabeth Byrs, said unless a “substantial injection of funds” is provided by donors by early July, it would be forced to ground most of its humanitarian air fleet by the end of next month.
“I think all the operations will be affected, because you need money to get to charter a plane for passenger and medical evacuation, or to transport cargo”, she told reporters in Geneva.
Ms Byrs said, “I know that slowly and slowly, step by step, some commercial flights will resume and we use them as often as it’s possible”, but there will still be countries, especially in regions like the Middle East, “where it’s badly needed”.
The WFP operates a network of so-called global aid hubs in China, Belgium and the United Arab Emirates, near the manufacturing locations.
It also controls the Ethiopia, Ghana, South Africa, Malaysia, Panama and Dubai regional hubs.
Over recent months, the WFP Aviation Service has transported huge quantities of urgently needed medical supplies – including Personal Protective Equipment ( PPE), masks and ventilators – as well as staff from scores of aid organisations.
WFP also transports goods by road and sea, on behalf of other UN agencies and NGOs.
Ms Byrs said that the organization has operated diligently since the outbreak of COVID-19 “response on a scale ‘never seen before’
“This is a response on a scale never seen before” Ms Byrs said about the Emergency Delivery System.
She lamented that the pandemic shows no signs of unabasing and it’s vital that the response doesn’t stop now when it’s most needed.
“The common services budget of $965 million to maintain the air service until the end of the year is only 14 per cent funded.
Only $178 million has so far been confirmed or advanced,” Some $ 787 million are urgently required to sustain these essential air cargo and passenger movement operations until the end of the year.
Ms Byrs warned of drastic repercussions if the humanitarian flights were to stop.
She warned, without the service; “hospitals in developing countries would not receive desperately needed medical supplies…Health centres serving pregnant women and undernourished children, would not receive life-saving nutritional products for the prevention and treatment of malnutrition.”
Ms Byrs added that “I could also tell you that we have provided enough cargo to fill 120 jumbo jets, waiting to be transported in coming weeks.”
WFP also has links as part of this scheme to a global network of contracted air ambulances that have performed nine UN staff medical evacuations so far.
