South Korea support helps WFP provide assistance to Palestine's poorest people

The funds will enable WFP to continue providing food assistance via electronic vouchers with which families can buy fresh food at shops in their neighbourhood.  

“The government of Korea is pleased to make a contribution towards supporting food-insecure Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank,” said Representative of South Korea to the Palestinian Authority Donggi Kim. “We hope in the future we can expand our contribution towards WFP’s livelihood support programme which provides Palestinian families with agricultural assets to enhance their food intake and self-reliance”.                                                                    

WFP food assistance is vital for hundreds of thousands of people who face high levels of unemployment and poverty. Many food-insecure families take extreme measures to survive, often skipping meals and sinking even deeper into debt. Children are especially vulnerable - in such circumstances, their growth and development are compromised. 

“I thank South Korea for this contribution, which directly supports the most vulnerable families as well as indirectly supporting smallholder farmers, food producers and retailers,” said WFP Representative and Country Director Stephen Kearney.  “WFP assistance through e-vouchers is a massive boost to the local economy and to hundreds of small businesses that would otherwise struggle to stay afloat.”

WFP is providing regular food assistance to more than 340,000 of the poorest and most food-insecure people among the non-refugee populations of Gaza and the West Bank. With more than 80 percent of assisted families receiving food via WFP’s cash-based transfers, some US$3.5 million is being injected every month into the fragile Palestinian economy.

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The United Nations World Food Programme - saving lives in emergencies and changing lives for millions through sustainable development. WFP works in more than 80 countries around the world, feeding people caught in conflict and disasters, and laying the foundations for a better future.

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