Japan Donates US$10 Million To Support WFP Food Assistance In Yemen
SANA’A – The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) has welcomed a contribution of US$10 million from the Government of Japan for emergency food assistance to support 200,000 displaced and vulnerable people in Yemen for three months.
Japan’s donation will also help WFP assist host communities which have been overstretched by the arrival of nearly 2.5 million internally displaced people. WFP has been providing monthly food assistance to nearly 3 million people across Yemen since the beginning of this year.
“In times of crisis, Japan has been a consistent donor to WFP, supporting its efforts to fight hunger in Yemen,” said WFP Country Director in Yemen Purnima Kashyap. “This contribution will help provide assistance in Yemen to some of the most vulnerable households. We are extremely thankful for the generosity of the people and Government of Japan and their commitment to helping the people of Yemen.”
This latest contribution comes as the conflict in Yemen intensifies, exacerbating the country’s already poor food security situation and adding more than 3 million people to the ranks of the hungry in less than a year.
It is now estimated that 7.6 million people in Yemen are severely food insecure – a level of need that requires urgent food assistance.
“I believe this food assistance will directly contribute to alleviating the impact of food shortages and help tackle the problem of malnutrition in Yemen, which suffers from a dire humanitarian crisis,” said the Japanese Ambassador to Yemen Katsuyoshi Hayashi.
In 2015, Japan contributed almost US$15 million to WFP’s operations in Yemen.
# # #
About WFP
WFP is the world's largest humanitarian agency fighting hunger worldwide, delivering food assistance in emergencies and working with communities to improve nutrition and build resilience. Each year, WFP assists some 80 million people in around 80 countries.
For more information, please visit: www.wfp.org or Facebook
Follow us on Twitter @wfp_media and @wfp_mena
For more information please contact:
Marwa Awad, WFP/Amman, Mobile: +962791295719, email: marwa.awad@wfp.org
Abeer Etefa, WFP/Cairo, Mobile: +201066634352, email: abeer.etefa@wfp.org
Reem Nada, WFP/Cairo, Mobile: +201066634522, email: reem.nada@wfp.org
Koichi Hatanaka, Japanese Embassy/ Riyadh, Mobile: +966504372239, email: koichi.hatanaka@mofa.go.jp