The United Nations World Food Program today announced US government contributions totaling 62 million dollars that will be used to feed people confronting humanitarian crises across 13 countries in Africa and one in Asia.
According to a statement from the World Food Program (WFP), the US contributions will target refugees and other food-insecure populations in Uganda, Kenya, the Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Zimbabwe and Swaziland. Other beneficiary countries are Lesotho, Mozambique, Rwanda, Burundi, Liberia, Djibouti, Cameroon and Nepal.
The statement says the latest series of major donations, from the Office of Food for Peace at the US Agency for International Development, bring total American contributions to WFP operations for the year to 727.6 million dollars. The United States is WFP's single largest donor.
John Dey, Director of US Relations for WFP, said the United States government has thrown a lifeline to people who desperately need assistance in situations of conflict, prolonged drought and poverty exacerbated by the onslaught of HIV/AIDS.
In Uganda, a contribution of 5.2 million dollars will benefit people who have been displaced by ongoing conflict inside northern Uganda, as well as refugees from conflict in Southern Sudan.
The biggest donation of 18.1 million dollars, is for Democratic Republic of Congo, where long years of internal conflict have destroyed the economy and severely disrupted society, exacerbating already widespread poverty.
