KATHMANDU: The World Food Programme (WFP) today welcomed assurances from the government that the WFP-provided food was not the source of a diarrhea outbreak in the Mid-west and Far-west of Nepal.

A letter from the Secretary of the Office of the Prime Minister and Council of Ministers to WFP’s

Representative for Nepal Richard Ragan stated that the ministry would like to reiterate what has already been stated by the Ministry of Health and Population. That, this crisis was a result of contaminated water as well as poor sanitation and hygiene practices.

Claims that WFP food quality delivered to this area was substandard are false, and the government is aware that WFP applies strict quality controls in order to meet the highest standards, said the official letter.

The secretary also expressed the government’s support for and appreciation of WFP’s lifesaving work and its efforts to “ensure food security in the most remote food deficit areas of the country.”

In the wake of the allegations, the government [lanned to transparently investigate claims made by civil society and proposed a joint mission including WFP technical specialists in this process.

Accordingly, the government has requested WFP to continue food distribution to the more than two million people across the country under its current programmes. It has also asked WFP to consider increasing its activities in the coming months as the country has faced both a winter and summer drought.

WFP has been assisting Nepal’s poorest and most vulnerable for more than 40 years. The outbreak of diarrhea outbreak in the Mid-and Far-West was sought to be linked with the food WFP was providing.