World Bank Donates US$50 Million To Fight Hunger And Malnutrition

[Elisabeth Janaina]

World Bank Donates US$50 Million To Fight Hunger And Malnutrition
Three United Nations agencies leading the response to a dire hunger
and nutrition crisis in South Sudan yesterday said they received US$50
million donation from the World Bank to address food insecurity and
malnutrition in the country.
12 September 2017
World Bank Donates US$50 Million To Fight Hunger And Malnutrition

By Jale Richard

JUBA, 12 September 2017 [Gurtong]-The UN Food and Agriculture
Organization (FAO), the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and the World Food
Program (WFP) said the World Bank’s support, channeled through South
Sudan’s Ministry of Agriculture, is vital to maintain the momentum of
helping millions of men, women and children who would face starvation
without sustained assistance.

Early this year famine was declared in some parts of the country but
due to massive emergency response, including large-scale food and
nutrition assistance, famine conditions in South Sudan have abated.

However, the UN said Six million people still face hunger. According
to UNICEF, more than 1.1 million children are estimated to suffer from
malnutrition across the country, with almost 290,000 severely
malnourished in need of urgent humanitarian aid.

“With half of South Sudan’s population struggling to feed itself and
more than one million children suffering from acute malnutrition, this
is vital assistance that will save many lives, while helping
communities to help themselves,” said Mahimbo Mdoe, UNICEF’s
Representative in South Sudan.

UNICEF’s efforts to prevent and treat severe acute malnutrition in
children will be significantly scaled up over the next year because of
the donation from the World Bank of over US$16 million.

Adnan Khan, WFP Representative in South Sudan said the contribution
from the World Bank is a step in the right direction towards ending
hunger and malnutrition, which both threaten lives and are impediments
to child development.

WFP will receive nearly US$26 million for food and nutrition
assistance to 110,000 people particularly in areas with acute hunger
and threatened by famine.

“Thanks to the funding from the World Bank, we can work towards a
sustainable future by supporting the most vulnerable farmers,
pastoralists and fisher folk rebuild their livelihoods,” said Serge
Tissot, FAO’s Representative in South Sudan.

Tissot said FAO will receive nearly US$8 million to support the
recovery of crop, livestock and fisheries production in areas hard hit
by food insecurity. “By restoring their livelihoods, ending hunger and
extreme poverty can become a reality,” he said.

WFP said it has assisted 4.2 million people in South Sudan so far,
this year – the highest number of people reached by WFP in South Sudan
since independence. In July, WFP provided food and nutrition
assistance for 2.9 million people.

FAO has assisted 3.9 million people with emergency livelihood kits
(fishing, vegetable and crop), and reached 3.1 million livestock under
an animal health campaign. In the coming months, FAO will be scaling
up its response to farmers in the second planting season in the
Equatorias.


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