Kadijo Suleyman, an internally displaced person (IDP) from southern Somalia, holds her malnourished child in front of her makeshift shelter on Thursday, at the Taraboonka IDP camp in the Hodon district of Mogadishu. Drought in the Horn of Africa is affecting some 12.4 million people, the most severe food security crisis in Africa since the 1991-92 Somalia famine, leaving some 3.7 million people in need of food assistance and some 450,000 children malnourished in Somalia. Abdurashid Abdulle / Agence France-Presse

 

WFP: Nation playing vital role in reducing poverty, hunger

BEIJING - China has emerged as a significant player in international humanitarian aid and its experience in poverty reduction might be "exportable" to the drought-stricken Horn of Africa, a UN agency official said in an exclusive interview with China Daily.

"China is increasingly central to international disaster response and humanitarian efforts," said Terri Toyota, director of Government Donor Relations at the World Food Program (WFP).

She said China, a recipient of WFP programs, has now become a donor nation playing a vital role in reducing poverty and hunger beyond its borders.

"As China continues to make giant strides addressing its own development challenges, it demonstrates 'benevolence beyond its borders', a genuine concern for those less fortunate."

"WFP and China are working together to export success," she added, noting that the agency seeks to leverage China's expertise in poverty reduction and rural development to help people around the world escape poverty and hunger.

On Aug 21, the Chinese government made its largest single donation to the WFP, contributing $16 million to the agency's famine relief operation in the Horn of Africa.

China has so far contributed $20 million to the WFP this year.

On Aug 15, China announced food aid worth 353.2 million yuan ($55.28 million) to help Ethiopia and other drought-stricken areas cope with the current famine.

It also announced plans to provide 90 million yuan in emergency food assistance to the region in late July.

The first cargo of food provided by China would reach the region no later than the end of September, Yu Yingfu, deputy director-general of the Department of Aid to Foreign Countries at the Ministry of Commerce, said earlier.

Besides cash and emergency food assistance to Africa, the Chinese government has attached greater significance in recent years to the food security issue in Africa and increased its input into African agriculture.

According to Lu Shaye, director-general of the Department of African Affairs at the Foreign Ministry, China has participated in more than 40 agricultural cooperation projects in more than 30 African countries since 1960.

It also has sent more than 100 senior agricultural technology specialists to 33 African countries from 2007 to 2009.

Toyota said that "China has been particularly generous with cash, expertise and technical support for (WFP) relief operations in Haiti after the earthquake, the 2010 Pakistan floods, and most recently the Horn of Africa".

The WFP's campaign for the Horn of Africa also received a donation of 200,000 yuan from a private foundation in China, while two Chinese IT companies are running publicity activities for the campaign.

African leaders and organizations pledged nearly $380 million to help the famine-hit Horn of Africa during a donor conference on Thursday.

The African Development Bank announced in a statement a donation of $300 million for long-term development in the Horn of Africa, to be spent by 2013. African nations also pledged $28.8 million in food donations during the conference, held at the African Union headquarters in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

African leaders promised to donate $51 million, the most generous donors being Algeria with $10 million, Egypt with $6 million and Angola with $5 million.

"This is what we pledged today, it is new money and exclusively African," said AU Chairman Jean Ping.

WFP Public Information Officer Natasha Scripture, based in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, said: "International assistance during this crisis has undoubtedly saved lives, but the task at hand is very large and the UN and other humanitarian actors will continue to need the support of governments to be able to fund our relief efforts and to implement long-term recovery activities," she added.

"China's donation will be mainly used in Somalia and to buy life-saving foods and products, including high-energy biscuit and other supplementary and nutritional foods," said Brett Rierson, director of the WFP China Office.

"It must be ensured that (we are) getting the right food at the right time to the right place," Rierson said.

"It's a win-win situation to fund this campaign as it's a win for children and other affected people that they could have a chance to survive and go forward," he said.

AP contributed to this story.