18/1/2012

World Food Programme (WFP) announced on Wednesday that the German government had donated $31 million to support its emergency and life saving programmes in Yemen.

In a joint press conference with German ambassador to Yemen Holger Green, WFP representative in Yemen Lubna Alaman said that the contribution is the largest donation that WFP has ever received from Germany for Yemen in one year and one of the highest ever worldwide.

"We are extremely grateful for this incredible show of support in what is an increasingly dire situation," said Alaman. "This remarkable contribution was perfectly timed as we are embarking on the scaling up of our assistance in response to the growing needs of Yemen."

She said that WFP was especially prioritizing 1.8 million severely food insecure Yemenis living in the poorest 14 governorates, including 635,000 women and children under the age of five.

The German contribution would be dedicated to distribute more than 20,000 metric tons of food commodities for severely malnourished children and to support WFP's Food for Girls' Education programme.

For his part, Holger Green stressed Germany's commitment to support WFP in an unprecedented scope in light of the ongoing political crisis which seriously affected the lives of many Yemenis.

"The German Government has decided to use a major part of its regular cooperation budget in 2011/2012 to address the humanitarian crisis in Yemen", German ambassador said.

AF
Saba