Saudi Arabia Supports WFP Operations In Syria, Palestine & Ethiopia
RIYADH – The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) today welcomed a US$12 million contribution from the King Salman for Humanitarian Aid and Relief Centre (KSrelief) of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to support WFP’s humanitarian operations in Syria, Palestine and Ethiopia.
The agreement was signed at a ceremony in Riyadh this morning by the Adviser to the Royal Court and Supervisor General of KSrelief, Abdullah Al Rabeeah, and the Director of the WFP office in the UAE and GCC, Abdallah Alwardat.
“We appreciate this timely contribution from The King Salman for Humanitarian Aid and Relief Centre that will help us provide vital food assistance to hundreds of thousands of families in Syria, Palestine and Ethiopia,” said Alwardat. “For years, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has been a strong supporter and a generous donor to WFP’s projects worldwide. Our partnership has helped save millions of lives across the globe.”
Inside Syria, WFP delivers food assistance to more than four million people every month across the country. WFP will use US$10 million of this contribution to buy and distribute mixed food items that will cover the needs of more than 1.2 million people for three months in Syria’s hard-to-reach areas.
In Palestine, WFP aims to meet the food needs of the most vulnerable non-refugee families, as well as foster the resilience and coping mechanisms of fragile communities. WFP will use US$1 million to expand its e-voucher assistance in the Gaza strip to an additional 20,000 people in partnership with the Ministry of Social Development. This contribution will also cover nutrition awareness activities for this group for 14 weeks. WFP is currently providing e-vouchers to 70,000 people who use them to buy their food items in local shops.
The remaining portion (US$1 million) will go to Ethiopia to help WFP provide cereals for one month to more than 127,000 of the most vulnerable drought-affected people.
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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 80 countries.
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For more information please contact (email address: firstname.lastname@wfp.org):
Mohammed Amasha, WFP/Dubai Mob. +971 55 826 937, mohammed.amasha@wfp.org
