Germany Contributes €10 million To WFP For Hungry Families In Yemen
SANA’A – At a signing ceremony at Yemen’s Ministry of Planning and International Cooperation, the Government of Germany agreed to contribute €10 million (US$13.8 million) to the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) to help severely food insecure households across the country with food distributions and cash disbursements.
Stemming from the German Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), the contribution will be channelled through German development bank Kreditanstalt für Wiederaufbau (KfW).
“This generous contribution will enable us to ensure that we can reach all the vulnerable people we are targeting under our current emergency safety net,” said WFP Yemen Representative and Country Director Bishow Parajuli. “It also gives us the option to disburse cash in areas with developed markets, to give people a greater choice over the food they buy.”
The German contribution will support monthly food distributions or cash disbursements to severely food-insecure Yemeni households under WFP’s operations, which are targeting 2.8 million people by the end of June 2014.
As the second largest donor to WFP in Yemen, Germany has provided funds which have enabled WFP to reach some 5 million people in 2013.
WFP will continue to assist the food insecure and needy people of Yemen in a new operation starting in July.
At a cost of some US$500 million over its two-year duration, WFP’s new operation aims to reach 6 million people with a range of assistance including helping to develop agriculture, rural infrastructure, rainwater conservation and rural employment, as well as providing treatment and prevention of acute and chronic malnutrition and micronutrient deficiencies, and meals and take-home rations for children regularly attending school. It will also maintain relief assistance to the poorest and most vulnerable.
“This new operation reflects a gradual shift from providing relief to building recovery and resilience, helping people overcome barriers to food and nutrition security and manage the consequences of conflict and natural stresses,” said Parajuli. “We are hoping for continued generous support from Germany’s BMZ and other donors.”
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WFP is the world's largest humanitarian agency fighting hunger worldwide. Each year, WFP reaches around 90 million people in 80 countries with food assistance.
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For more information please contact
robin.lodge@wfp.org, WFP/Yemen, Tel+967 214100 ext 2111, Mob +967 738611778
fares.khoailed@wfp.org, WFP/Yemen, Tel. 967 214100 ext 2112, Mob. +967 735020663