Republic of Korea contributes US$400,000 for WFP emergency response in Tigray
ADDIS ABABA – The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) welcomes a US$400,000 contribution from the Government of the Republic of Korea to our operations in Ethiopia’s Tigray region to help provide food and nutrition support for thousands of people displaced by conflict.
The Republic of Korea’s donation will contribute to WFP’s emergency response that aims to reach up to 2.1 million people with urgently needed food and nutrition assistance. A total of 5.2 million people, or 91 percent of Tigray’s entire population, are in need of emergency food assistance due to conflict.
“This generous and timely contribution from the Republic of Korea will go a long way to provide life-saving food and nutrition support to the people of Tigray when they most need it,” said WFP Representative and Country Director Dr. Steven Were Omamo. “WFP is grateful for the Republic of Korea’s support at this critical time for families across Tigray whose food stocks are expected to be exhausted by now. There is no time to lose in scaling up the collective humanitarian response.”
WFP has so far provided food assistance to 650,000 people in southern and northwestern zones of Tigray as well as nutritionally fortified food to an additional 150,000 vulnerable pregnant or breastfeeding women as well as children. WFP has delivered three rounds of monthly food rations to 29,000 refugees in the two accessible and operational refugee camps in Tigray so far this year.
WFP and other agencies however lack sufficient resources to respond quickly and in full to save lives and livelihoods. WFP needs US$170 million to deliver life-saving food and nutrition assistance for the next six months to people who are affected by conflict in the northwest and parts of southern Tigray.
However, WFP’s funding needs will increase in coming months as its operations are likely to expand farther in the south.
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The United Nations World Food Programme is the 2020 Nobel Peace Prize Laureate. We are the world’s largest humanitarian organization, saving lives in emergencies and using food assistance to build a pathway to peace, stability and prosperity for people recovering from conflict, disasters and the impact of climate change.
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