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Belgium donates over $1
mln for WFP's activities in Ethiopia |
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ADDIS
ABEBA(December 12,2008) - The
Government of Belgium donated 1.331,028.million USD to the the United
Nations World Food Programme (WFP) activities in Ethiopia, the UN
agency said in a media statement on Thursday.
WFP said the donation was made ahead of a visit to WFP activities
in Ethiopia by two officials from the Belgium Ministry for Foreign
Affairs, Development Cooperation and Foreign Trade, in Brussels.
The Belgian Government's donation was divided in two tranches, the
UN agency said reffering to a recent donation by Belgium of US $ 647,668
for the emergency component of WFP's Protracted Relief and Recovery
Operation, which it said was assisting up to 6.4 million people in
Ethiopia, currently affected by drought and other natural disasters.
WFP said this contribution would be used to procure some 885 metric
tons of wheat.
Last September, Belgium also contributed US $ 683,360 to WFP which
WFP used to repay a loan to the organization's internal Immediate
Response Account (IRA) facility, which allowed WFP to receive advance
funds to procure food commodities for its refugee programme in Ethiopia.
Attaches Mr. Jan Vermeir and Ms. Silvia Croes, from the Department
for Emergency Aid are travelling to northeast and eastern Ethiopia
to observe at first hand how WFP is utilizing their Government's donations
in its field operations.
WFP Acting Country Director in Ethiopia, Felix B. F. Gomez, stated
that with the Government of Belgium's cooperation and partnership,
WFP was able to meet the urgent food needs of food insecure and vulnerable
beneficiaries, many of whom have little or no opportunity to find
food for themselves, given the impact and scope of the current drought,
the statement said.
Gomez added that as WFP is experiencing funding shortfalls to its
programmes, donor contributions are especially critical, and could
mean the difference between the agency providing full or reduced food
rations to beneficiaries.
The Belgian Ambassador to Ethiopia Gunther Sleeuwagen, re-affirmed
his country's commitment towards working closely with humanitarian
actors in Ethiopia to help enhance the livelihoods of people in the
country, according to WFP's press statement.
The Belgian delegation will first visit Kebribeyah refugee camp in
the Somali region of eastern Ethiopia.
Kebribeyah is one of the oldest refugee camps in eastern Ethiopia,
having been established after Somali nationals fled civil unrest in
their country in the early 1990's.
WFP's refugee programme operation is presently assisting 80,000 registered
Sudanese, Eritrean and Somali refugees hosted in seven different camps
throughout the country.
The delegation will also observe other WFP field programme operations,
including land rehabilitation activities, food assistance to acutely
moderately malnourished children, pregnant and lactating women, and
support to HIV/AIDS infected and affected households in urban areas
to help individuals meet their basic nutritional needs and develop
their capacity to cope with the impact of HIV/AIDS. |
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