US Ships More Wheat For WFP Emergency Operations To Feed Syrians In Need
BEIRUT – A ship carrying wheat from the United States of America -- enough to help feed more than 3.5 million Syrians for one month -- has delivered its cargo to the port of Beirut as part of a massive emergency food assistance operation by the UN World Food Programme (WFP). This is the second ship to bring a US wheat contribution to support WFP’s life-saving work in Syria in less than six months.
The MV Mathawee Naree which started its journey in Houston, Texas, arrived on 20 September carrying close to 22,000 metric tons of wheat. Some 7,000 metric tons was offloaded in Beirut, to be milled into flour in Lebanon and then transported to Syria by road. The ship then sailed yesterday to the port of Mersin in Turkey to offload the rest of the wheat, to be milled then transported onwards by sea to Syria for distribution by WFP to vulnerable families.
“The generous US contribution to WFP emergency’s operation for Syrians affected by the conflict comes at a critical time, as needs are increasing yet we are facing real challenges in raising money to keep up,” said Muhannad Hadi, WFP’s Emergency Coordinator for the Syria crisis.
WFP is providing wheat flour to bakeries that are still working in urban areas and they then provide bread for some of the most vulnerable families. In Aleppo and Idleb, where the bakeries project has been piloted, the Syrian Arab Red Crescent (SARC) is distributing bread produced with WFP wheat flour in selected bakeries to displaced families and other needy people.
In rural areas, WFP distributes flour directly to families who are able to bake their own bread at home. The families receive a 25 kg bag of flour in addition to their monthly food ration typically composed of vegetable oil, pasta, canned beans, lentils and sugar. WFP is prioritizing areas where there are severe shortages of bread.
The new wheat donation, worth more than US$15 million, is part of the US$270 million overall contribution of the US Government to WFP’s Syria emergency operation to assist vulnerable families in Syria and refugees in neighbouring countries.
The Syria response is WFP’s largest and most complex emergency worldwide. WFP needs US$30 million every week to meet the food needs of people affected by the conflict.
View WFP Syria Crisis Interactive Map: http://www.wfp.org/crisis/syria/map
Broadcast quality video is available here: http://www.hightail.com/download/OGhmS3dsT01oMlUxZXNUQw
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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 (email address: firstname.lastname@wfp.org):
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