London: Britain on March 31 announced a contribution of $ 10 million as the United Nations (UN) World Food Programme (WFP) appealed for $ 1.3 billion to fund a massive food aid operation in Iraq, which could become the largest ever project taken up by the agency.

Announcing the Britain contribution, Clare Short, Secretary of State for International Development said, "It is important that the UN has enough resources so that they can lead the international effort to provide humanitarian support to the people of Iraq."

In a separate press conference, WFP executive director James Morris said the appeal for $ 1.3 billion is part of the overall $ 2.2 billion required for all humanitarian assistance for Iraq in the coming six months.

The WFP operation will be a phased response, depending on unfolding needs. It could evolve into the largest humanitarian operation in history.

With the majority of Iraqis set to exhaust their food reserves by May, the agency plans to support a food distribution system capable of meeting the needs of the entire 27 million population in Iraq.

"We have already started building a lifeline for the Iraqi people," Morris said.

"Orders for tens of thousands of metric tons of food are in place, contracts with shipping and trucking companies have been drafted and experienced staff deployed across the region. But to move from planning to action, we need a level of security and urgent funds from the international community," he said.

If a new UN security resolution gave WFP access to approved food contracts already in the oil-for-food pipeline, WFP would immediately reduce its appeal to donors, Morris said.

Initially, WFP's six-month operation is designed to address a range of possible developments. This includes feeding a potential total of 2.1 million refugees and internally displaced persons, the latter through cross-border operations.

However, within a month, WFP hoped that security conditions would allow its staff back into Iraq to deliver food and support the public distribution system, used to distribute food to all Iraqi citizens under the UN oil-for-food programme.

"Our goal is to replenish the food distribution system and ensure the Iraqi people receive their monthly rations after April," Morris said.

WFP is the world's largest humanitarian agency. Every year WFP feeds around 80 million people in 82 countries including most of the world's refugees and internally displaced people.

PTI