Food aid to Africa plummets
2005-02-14 21:33
Rome - Aid for Africa's starving plummeted in the wake of the Asian tsunami which attracted hundreds of millions of dollars in relief, the World Food Programme said on Monday, pleading for donors not to let their commitment fall.
"Donations to WFP's operations in Africa dropped by 21% in January 2005 to $24m, compared to $29m in the first month of 2004," the United Nations agency said.
"Globally, contributions to WFP's work in Africa represented just 8% of the total received by the agency, compared with 20% in January 2004."
WFP Executive Director James Morris said the response to the Indian Ocean tidal wave disaster which killed more than 287 000 people in Indonesia, Sri Lanka and other countries demonstrated how much the world cares for millions of people facing extraordinary suffering.
"The challenge we now face is to ensure that a 'tsunami effect' does not ripple across Africa, drawing funds away from humanitarian operations there and adding Sudanese, Angolan and Liberian victims to its toll," he said.
"I'm sure that donors to the tsunami disaster will not allow their generosity to be at the expense of hungry people in Africa, however far from the global spotlight they are."