Korea provides food aid worth over 163.6M to Anglophone crisis victims

By Ringnwi Joy

The Korean government has provided assistance to some victims of the Anglophone crisis.

The assistance worth over 163.3 million FCFA (US$300,000) was made available through the United Nations World Food Programme, WFP in Cameroon. It was recently handed to families affected by violence in the North West and South West Regions.

“WFP is grateful for the continuous generosity of the Korean Government”, the Representative and Country Director of WFP Cameroon, Wanja Kaaria stated adding that, “this contribution will enable us to provide life-saving assistance to vulnerable families and to help them rebuild their livelihoods”.

Korea, a statement from the UN agency said, is a key strategic partner supporting WFP in Cameroon, to achieve zero hunger in line with the Sustainable Development Goals, SDGs.

The food items including rice, salt, sugar, vegetable oil and a host of others, are provided on a monthly basis in the two restive regions.

In 2020, WFP reached out to an average of 503,539 persons monthly with unconditional in-kind food assistance.
Clashes between non-state armed groups and state forces have disrupted socio-economic activities in the two regions, said to be amongst the country’s agricultural baskets. The crisis has resulted in the displacement of hundreds of thousand of persons and resulting in food insecurity.

An estimated 960,000 people are facing food insecurity in the restive North West and South West Regions, according to the Cadre Harmonise analysis.

The efforts of WFP in saving lives in emergency situations and using food assistance to build a pathway to peace, stability and prosperity for people recovering from conflict, disasters and the impact of climate change earned them the 2020 Nobel Peace Prize. It is also recognised as the world’s largest humanitarian organization.