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| Thursday, 18 March 2004 |
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Sri Lanka receives US$1.8 Million from Japan The United Nations World Food Programme welcomed a donation of US$ 35 million from the Japanese Government for 20 countries around the world to assist refugees, internally displaced persons and victims of natural disasters and poverty in Africa, Asia, Latin America, Eastern Europe and the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), states a WFP news release. The donation was approved by the Japanese cabinet. This major contribution gives special attention to countries where WFP has its greatest shortfalls. It also places a new emphasis on school feeding and other development activities. Some US$ 14.7 million - 42 per cent of the donation - will go to support WFP operations in 12 countries in Africa, where almost 40 million people, whose lives have been shattered by conflict, natural disasters or poor economic management, receive WFP food aid. "WFP welcomes this continuing support for Africa as a follow-up to the Third Tokyo International Conference on African Development last fall," said WFP executive Director James. T. Morris. "At a time when donor interest is tending to focus on high-profile areas, Japan's leadership in making this contribution gives real hope for the future of millions of children in Africa suffering from chronic malnutrition". The funds will be used to buy wheat flour, maize, rice, sorghum, pluses and vegetable oil and caned tuna. A total of US$ 4.6 million has been allocated to operations in southern Africa where food security is at risk due to continuing drought and the HIV/AIDS pandemic; US$ 1.8 million will be used for displaced persons in the Great Lakes region and a further US$ 1.8 million is for food aid in Liberia to assist the recovery from a decade of civil war. The donation will also support school feeding projects in Kenya and Zimbabwe. According to the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), approximately 2.4 million Haitians, out of a total population of eight million, are unable to cover their daily food requirements. Recent studies indicate that more than 50 per cent of the population is malnourished and faces chronic food insecurity. Japan is one of the first countries to respond, by allocating US$ 2.8 million to support WFP operations in Haiti. "This is a very timely response to a serious crisis," Morris said. "WFP greatly appreciates Japan's concern and generosity - we now have a growing partnership with japan, which we value enormously". A further US$ 14.7 million will go to Asia in order to support WFP operations in Cambodia, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Laos. The Sri Lanka operations will receive a total of US$ 1.8 Million (Rs. 170 Million) amounting to approximately 6,000 metric tons of food. Japanese Government donations to WFP already amount to US$ 58.6 million this year, following a total contribution of US$130 million in 2003, which made Japan WFP's fourth largest donor last year. WFP is the world's largest humanitarian agency. In 2003 WFP fed nearly 110 million people in 82 countries including most of the world's refugees and internally displaced people. |
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