Ethiopian Journal

Addis Ababa (Ethiopia) the United Kingdom government has provided 20 million pounds sterling for Ethiopia’s food assistance appeal, APA learns here on Saturday. 

“The emergency funding is being provided in response to the Ethiopian government’s latest humanitarian assessment, which estimates that 5.2 million people urgently need food aid to survive,” said the UK embassy in Ethiopia.

The UK funding will be channeled through the UN World Food Programme, to enable them to purchase and distribute food.

It is to be recalled that at the end of 2009, Ethiopia appealed for food assistance to feed over five million people who depend on food assistance due to poor rain in some parts of the country in the last year rainy season.

The over $300 million appeal aims at delivering food assistance for those in need of emergency food aid.

In January 2010, the British Department for International Development (DFID) announced an additional £200m to continue funding the innovative and successful safety net programme in Ethiopia.

“Alongside providing for people’s immediate needs, DFID is also helping to deliver major improvements in Ethiopia’s health, education, water, agricultural services, and economic growth,” said the embassy.

In the next three to five years, according to the embassy, this funding will help to put 2.8 million more children in school, give 6 million people access to water, and ensure an extra 400,000 children reach their fifth birthday.

APA