JEDDAH, 8 June 2006 — Six countries in the Horn of Africa are to benefit from $10 million in drought relief Saudi Arabia has pledged to provide through the World Food Program.
The cash donation would be forwarded to the WFP to buy and distribute food to the needy in drought-affected parts of Djibouti, Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda, Somalia and Tanzania.
The locally purchased grain is expected to be ready for joint distribution by mid-June by officials from the Ministry of Finance and WFP staff.
One million dollars of the total Saudi donation would be earmarked for drought-victims in Ethiopia, according to Melese Awoke, public information assistant with the WFP in Addis Ababa.
The cash would be utilized for the purchase locally of 1,500 tons of maize for severely-affected people in the region of the country bordering Somalia.
