The Government of China has made its largest single donation to the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) with US$34 million towards its emergency operations to support people who are at risk of famine in Somalia, Nigeria, South Sudan and Yemen, as well as those affected by severe food shortages in Kenya and Chad.
Combined with earlier contributions, the Chinese government’s support for WFP totals more than US$138 million since 2005, and builds on China’s increasingly significant backing in recent years for WFP’s operations around the world.
The contribution will assist approximately 2 million food insecure people in six countries: Somalia (US$10 million), South Sudan (US$5 million), Nigeria (US$5 million), Yemen (US$5 million), Kenya (US$5 million), and Chad (US$4 million), enabling WFP to provide critical food and nutrition assistance for those in greatest need, to relieve the current crisis and prevent a slide into famine.
More than 70 percent of the total donation will be allocated to South Sudan, Somalia, Yemen and Nigeria – countries that are all facing famine – to meet the growing demands of people in the most acute need. The United Nations has issued a warning that the world is facing the largest humanitarian crisis since the U.N. was founded in 1945. WFP urgently needs funding to scale up operations with other humanitarian partners to save the lives of millions of people on the brink of starvation as well as addressing nutritional needs.
In Kenya, after more than a year of ration cuts caused by a shortage of funds, new donor contributions from China and other countries have now allowed WFP to resume provision of full food rations to all refugees from April to July.
“WFP is extremely grateful to the Government of China for this timely and generous contribution that will substantially boost our efforts to provide urgent food support to the people who need it most and help others who are vulnerable and on the verge of famine,” said Sixi Qu, WFP China Representative. “We are embarking on a five-year Country Strategic Plan with partners to continue working towards zero hunger, including supporting China’s domestic efforts to reduce food insecurity through capacity strengthening, facilitating countries to ‘help each other’ through South-South and trilateral cooperation, as well as building a broad range of partnerships.”
