Germany Donates US$30 Million For Nutrition, Safety Nets & Girls’ Education In Yemen
SANA’A – The German government has donated €24 million (US$30 million) to the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) in Yemen to support nutrition, protective safety nets and girls’ education.
From the German Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), the contribution will be channelled through the German development bank Kreditanstalt für Wiederaufbau (KfW).
“This very substantial donation will have a huge impact on hundreds of thousands of the most vulnerable people in Yemen,” said WFP Yemen Deputy Country Director Rukia Yacoub. “Crucially, it enables us to provide 115,000 schoolgirls with take-home rations until the end of the current school year.”
A total US$5.5 million of the contribution will support monthly food distributions or cash disbursements to severely food-insecure Yemeni families under WFP’s protective safety net operation, while US$14 million will go to treating and preventing malnutrition among young children and pregnant and breastfeeding women.
The girls’ education component amounts to US$10 million and will also include take-home rations for 25,000 children released from child labour. The remaining US$500,000 will support capacity development and innovation in the Yemen government.
All these activities are part of WFP’s two-year Protracted Relief and Recovery Operation, which started in July. This operation, with a budget of around US$500 million, aims to reach 6 million people through a range of interventions including helping to develop agriculture, rural infrastructure, rainwater conservation and rural employment.
Additionally the operation will provide 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 continue to provide 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 Yacoub. “Germany is a key donor, whose support is critical to achieving our aims.”
Germany is the largest donor to WFP Yemen so far this year, having contributed more than US$43.5 million in 2014.
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WFP is the world's largest humanitarian agency fighting hunger worldwide. Last year, WFP reached more than 97 million people in 80 countries with food assistance.
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For more information please contact
edward.johnson@wfp.org WFP/Yemen, Tel.+967 214100 ext 2110, Mob. +967 735210222
fares.khoailed@wfp.org WFP/Yemen, Tel. 967 214100 ext 2112, Mob. +967 735020663