RECORD DONATION ENABLES UN AGENCY TO PROVIDE FOOD AID IN 20 COUNTRIES

11 January - The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) today welcomed a donation of $196.6 million from Japan, the largest-ever single contribution to the agency, which will use it to provide essential food and nutritional assistance to millions of needy people in 20 countries in Africa and Asia.

The funds will also support logistics operations in eight countries where WFP has projects.

“We are extremely grateful for this substantial supplementary aid package and Japan's continued commitment to promoting human security and peacebuilding,” said Mohamed Saleheen, Director of WFP's Japan Relations Office. “This is proof of Japan's strong leadership in global food and nutrition security.”

The donation will benefit people in need in countries such as Pakistan, Afghanistan, Tajikistan, Sudan, Ethiopia, Kenya, Niger and Uganda.

The channelling of funds to support food assistance programmes in Afghanistan and Pakistan reflect Japan's desire to promote peace and stability in the region, according to WFP.

The funds will be used to provide food to conflict and disaster-affected people, internally displaced persons (IDPs) and other vulnerable groups, including malnourished children and pregnant and lactating women. In Pakistan, the donation will be used to provide immediate food assistance, as well as recovery support to the survivors of last year's devastating floods.

In Africa, the contribution will support WFP's programmes in 17 African countries where people are in need food aid because of conflicts and weather-related shocks such as droughts and floods.

WFP's logistics operations will also benefit from the donation, especially in Afghanistan and Pakistan, where the agency runs the UN Humanitarian Air Service, which provides critical air transport and cargo services for the humanitarian community.