The Government of Italy has donated EUR 1 million to the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) and UNICEF to assist people affected by the conflict in Eastern Ukraine in 2017.
“The Italian Government continues to support the non-stop and commendable efforts carried out by UN agencies in Ukraine to assist the population affected by the conflict,” said Davide La Cecilia, the Italian Ambassador to Ukraine. “Our contribution to WFP and UNICEF operations will help ease people’s suffering, in particular for the most vulnerable, providing food assistance, increasing knowledge and building safe behaviour practices to deal with the risk of mines.”
Italy’s contribution will enable WFP to provide food to the most vulnerable people who do not receive assistance from other humanitarian actors. WFP will also use the funds to implement small-scale early recovery activities to improve local livelihoods. UNICEF will use the funds to provide mine risk education programmes for children and families living close to the contact line, a line which divides government and non-government controlled areas where fighting is most severe.
“WFP is thankful to the Government of Italy for helping us provide much-needed food assistance to vulnerable people affected by the conflict in eastern Ukraine,” said Giancarlo Stopponi, WFP Deputy Country Director in Ukraine. “WFP greatly appreciates Italy’s support at a time when communities across Ukraine continue to experience the negative consequences of the conflict.”
