KATHMANDU – The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) has launched an immediate investigation into how 120 bags of rice in Laprak, Gorkha district, were damaged.
The WFP Emergency Coordinator for Nepal, Richard Ragan, and the Chief District Officer of Gorkha, Uddhav Prasad Timilchina, today visited Laprak following complaints that some of the rice to be distributed to earthquake survivors was damaged.
Ragan and Timilchina saw that 120 bags of rice, out of a total 485 bags that had been delivered to Laprak on Tuesday, contained damaged rice. The 120 bags were set aside by WFP’s local partner, the Nepal Red Cross Society (NRCS) before any distribution, while the remaining 365 bags of undamaged rice had been distributed to the villagers.
“We have launched an immediate investigation into why a quarter of the rice was unfit for distribution,” said Ragan.
“There are three possibilities: the rice could have been received damaged from the supplier, the damage could have happened during warehousing in high temperatures, or, finally, during transportation. The answer will be made public as soon as we find out what happened. It is also important to note that none of the damaged rice was distributed and will be immediately replaced,” he said.
WFP takes the quality of the food it distributes very seriously, and thoroughly investigates any complaints. Complaints can be lodged at the following hotline numbers: 9855 092 192 (Nepal Telecom) or 9801 083 600 (Ncell).
Since 25 April, WFP has distributed 5,400 metric tons of food to close to two million earthquake-affected Nepalis.
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WFP is the world's largest humanitarian agency fighting hunger worldwide, delivering food assistance in emergencies and working with communities to improve nutrition and build resilience. Each year, WFP assists some 80 million people in around 75 countries.
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For more information please contact (email address: firstname.lastname@wfp.org):
Iolanda Jaquemet, WFP/Kathmandu, Mob. +977 9802 039 678