WFP Welcomes Japan's $9Mln Donations To Address Food Insecurity In South Sudan

WFP Welcomes Japan's $9Mln Donations to Address Food Insecurity in South Sudan

The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) welcomed on Wednesday two recent contributions by Japan to tackle food insecurity in South Sudan, totaling some $9 million

MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 17th August, 2022) The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) welcomed on Wednesday two recent contributions by Japan to tackle food insecurity in South Sudan, totaling some $9 million.

"The WFP welcomes two contributions totalling around $9 million, announced by the Government of Japan at a ceremony last week; a timely contribution as hunger deepens in South Sudan with more than 7.74 million people severely food insecure, including around 1.3 million children and 683,000 pregnant and lactating women who are expected to be malnourished this year," the WFP said in a statement.

According to the WFP, the contributions will help support up to 300,000 people through 2022. In particular, the first Japan's grant will be used to purchase 1,500 metric tons of rice for 41,500 people facing food insecurity, while the second contribution will enable the WFP to procure cereals, oil, and pulses to help some 234,000 people later in the year.

Japan has been funding food assistance to developing countries since 1968 and has supported the WFP's work in South Sudan since 2013, contributing more than $44 million, the statement read.

The WFP is the UN's food-assistance branch, and the world's largest humanitarian organization focusing its work on fighting hunger and providing food security.