The U.N. World Food Programme is working tirelessly to assist people in need following the devastating fire outbreak that tore through four settlements in the Kutupalong Mega Camp in Cox’s Bazaar, Bangladesh. Our frontline staff in the camps reported horrific scenes of devastation, destruction and despair.
This funding from the United States – $610,000 – arrives at a critical time. The influx of DRC refugees in Zambia has been steadily increasing throughout 2020, pushing up the need for food and nutrition assistance.
We are seeing a catastrophe unfold before our very eyes. Famine – driven by conflict, and fueled by climate shocks and the COVID-19 hunger pandemic – is knocking on the door for millions of families.
More than 668,000 people, mainly women and children, were forced to flee their homes without any belongings due to the ongoing crisis. Without the humanitarian community, these people would not be able to meet their basic needs.
Today’s $8 million contribution from the United States Government, through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), will help maintain critical food assistance to refugees living in Nduta, Mtendeli and Nyarugusu camps in north-western Tanzania.
In the last year, COVID-19 has left 370 million children without school meals. WFP has begun building a school feeding coalition to find sustainable and innovative funding sources for school feeding programs, strengthen evidence and guidance to improve said programs and bring together multiple sectors to achieve better outcomes for school children globally.
Without urgent access to the care they need, severely malnourished children are at imminent risk of death. We must be able to safely reach all children, women and girls in need as soon as possible, particularly in the areas most affected by recent violence.
We applaud President Biden’s signing of this Rescue Plan and its robust funding for key international food assistance accounts, particularly the Food for Peace program and the International Disaster Assistance program.
Roughly, one child in Yemen will die every 75 seconds, said World Food Programme Executive Director David Beasley during his address to the United Nations Security Council today. Beasley called for an end to the conflict and fuel blockade that are propelling Yemen towards the biggest famine in modern history.
After a decade of upheaval, conflict and displacement, Syrians are facing the worst humanitarian conditions since the start of the crisis. We cannot forget them.
