KATHMANDU, April 26 (Xinhua) -- The World Food Program (WFP) Wednesday urged all parties to the present crisis to work together to see that critical food aid programs and other humanitarian operations can resume, and to work to avert a larger food security crisis.

    A WFP press statement reaching here said, "With road travel severely curtailed, schools shut and major cities under curfew for the last three weeks, the United Nations World Food Program in Nepal has not been able to deliver critically needed food aid to communities around the country, including to over half a million school children."

    The statement further said that while more than 100,000 Bhutanese refugees living in eastern Nepal have been receiving supplies after WFP appealed to all parties to allow safe passage to food convoys traveling to the region, most operations in other parts of Nepal have come to a standstill in the last few weeks.

    "Before this political crisis, WFP was providing food to over 1 million persons living in severely food insecure areas of the country," the statement said.

    As well as providing food to children in schools, WFP runs food-for-work programs that provide rations to 300,000 people, allowing communities where food is scarce to build roads to access markets and nearby towns.

    Another 17,000 mothers and young children are provided with food as part of nutrition and health programs, the statement said, adding "All these programs have been under threat with the closure of roads and other transport networks."

    Working with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), WFP also provides food to 105,000 Bhutanese refugees living in camps in eastern Nepal who are totally dependent on external assistance to meet their basic needs. Enditem