Main Category:
Aid / Disasters News
Article Date: 23 Sep 2006 - 14:00pm (PDT)
|
email this article |
printer friendly |
view or write opinions |
The United Nations World Food Programme today
welcomed a cash donation of US$10 million from the
Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to its operations in West
Africa, where many of the poorest people in the
world are living under trying conditions.
The Saudi donation comes at a particularly crucial
time for the drought-prone Sahel, as the annual
'lean season' nears its end people still struggle to
feed their families until the next harvest. Recent
floods have also displaced thousands throughout the
region, making the delivery of food aid all the more
pressing.
The gift is to be shared among eight countries:
Ghana, Guinea Bissau, Liberia, Mali, Mauritania,
Niger, Senegal and Sierra Leone.
"This is an extremely generous donation which comes
at an important time and is destined for some of the
poorest countries in the world, where millions of
people still struggle each day to find the food they
need for a healthy diet," said WFP Regional Director
for West Africa, Mustapha Darboe. "Most of the time,
West Africa is far from the headlines, but we have
absolutely crucial work to do here. This
contribution is a major boost to that effort."
Over half the funds are destined for the Sahel,
where malnutrition continues to take its toll
amongst the most vulnerable young children. Years of
underdevelopment have left countries such as Niger,
Mauritania and Mali struggling to address chronic
problems of malnutrition in young children. This is
a structural crisis that made headlines last year in
Niger, but will take many years to reverse. However,
the Saudi contributions to these countries (US$2
million each to Niger and Mauritania and US$1.5
million to Mali) will bolster WFP efforts to bring
relief in the short term and encourage a more
comprehensive long term solution.
The US$1 million allocated to Senegal will allow the
purchase of 1,500 tons of rice, pulses and oil which
will be distributed to the most food-insecure
households in the southern Casamance region,
including returned refugees, internally displaced
persons (IDPs), orphans, physically disabled people,
and more than 130,000 school children.
A high-level Saudi delegation will undertake a
four-day visit to WFP operations in Senegal,
Mauritania and Niger between September 19 and 22.
The delegation is led by WFP Special Ambassador
Abdulaziz Arrukban, and includes senior officials
from the Saudi Ministry of Finance.
"The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has donated millions of
dollars bilaterally or multilaterally to relief and
development projects over the last 30 years," said
Arrukban. "The contributions to WFP in West Africa
are part of its ongoing commitment to helping
humanity through assisting those who need help
most."
An increasingly significant donor to WFP operations
worldwide, Saudi Arabia has contributed nearly US$30
million this year alone. WFP operations in Cambodia,
the occupied Palestinian territories, the Horn of
Africa and Pakistan are among other recent
beneficiaries..
###
WFP is the world's largest humanitarian agency: each
year, we give food to an average of 90 million poor
people to meet their nutritional needs, including 58
million hungry children, in at least 80 of the
world's poorest countries. WFP -- We Feed People.
WFP Global School Feeding Campaign - For just 19 US
cents a day, you can help WFP give children in poor
countries a healthy meal at school - a gift of hope
for a brighter future.
For further information please go to:
World
Food Program WFP - We Feed People
