“UN member countries are asked to donate 0.5 percent of their Gross Domestic Product, GDP, in foreign aid, but Saudi Arabia consistently donates 1.5 percent,” said Prince Fahd Bin Faisal Aal-Saud, who spoke to the UN General Assembly last October.
“Two years ago we had the food and oil crisis at the beginning of the financial crisis,” said the Saudi mission diplomat. “A check was given to the UN World Food Program to alleviate the sufferings of poor countries around the world, whether in the supply of oil or food distribution. Over 95 developing countries have benefited from the Kingdom’s aid.”
“It was given to the UN secretary-general here at the time, but hardly anyone mentions it, so we are accustomed to lack of publicity,” the diplomat said.
But that contribution is very significant to Terri Toyota, director of global donor relations of the UN’s World Food Program.
“It was truly extraordinary, in 2008 we had an appeal for more money due to an increase in food prices and the king of Saudi Arabia donated $500 million to the World Food Program to make up for the steep increases in the prices of fuel and food that had increased the cost of WFP providing assistance,” Toyota told Arab News in a telephone interview from the WFP headquarters in Rome, Italy on Friday.
“King Abdullah provided $500 million to WFP in direct response to that crisis,” she said.
Toyota added that the Kingdom has continued its commitment to the WFP. “For the past five years, they have provided another $588 million, so they remain an extremely strong supporter, and are our number five donor in the World Food Program.”
“In fact, we were just compiling a list of the changes that resulted from the donation of the $500m, but it does take time before it can turn into the good news and success stories,” Toyota told Arab News. “Now we have some very concrete examples of the difference that the contributions have made, which we will be releasing shortly in an internal document to Saudi Arabia.”
Today, the WFP remains at the forefront of global need. It recently established a Regional North African Emergency Operation, said Toyota, which covers Libya and border areas of Tunisia and Egypt. “We have an appeal of $43 million dollars to assist a million people in that region.
“Depending on how things evolve, those needs may increase,” said Toyota, who just returned Thursday from Abu Dhabi and Dubai, where she met with officials and other humanitarian organizations “to highlight the needs and the circumstances of Libya right now.”
Focusing on the current emergencies in Japan and Libya, Toyota said the WFP is already on the ground.
“Our assistance to Japan currently is more on logistics and staffing, as that’s what they really need right now. We’ll be ready to offer any more assistance,” Toyota said.
Turning to North Africa, the WFP, she said, is planning to feed over one million refugees in the region.
“We have a planning figure of 600,000 people in Libya, 280,000 people in Tunisia, and 180,000 people in Egypt who need help. To date, we know that 270,000 people have fled Libya and we have fed over 100,000 people on the border.”
The WFP has not been granted internal access to Libya, at the moment, to provide any assistance in the country, said Toyota.
“That said, we have pre-positioned enough food to feed an additional 100,000, and that food is already in Libya. So we’re just stressing that, as a UN community, the need for a humanitarian corridor to distribute the food and provide the assistance,” said the WFP’s Director of Donor Donations.
“As needs grow, we will be reaching out to ensure that the resourcing is made available to the world food program for this emergency response."
