Global General

Norway gives extra aid to famine-stricken African countries

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2010-07-10 00:25

OSLO -- The Norwegian government announced on Friday that it will give 19 million Norwegian kroner (about US$3 million) in extra aid to famine-stricken Central and West African countries.

A Norwegian Foreign Ministry official told the Norwegian Televison station NRK that the government has decided to increase our contribution from the previous 31 million (kroner), with 19 million (kroner) to the African region known as the Eastern Sahel.

"We are going to give this money through the World Food Program, " he said.

The Norwegian government came to the decision after some Norwegian aid organizations sent a joint plea for greater Norwegian effort to prevent famine.

In a statement, Norwegian Foreign Minister Jonas Gahr Store said that the food situation in the Eastern Sahel countries was very serious and the Norwegian aid would be directed to provide food to children, pregnant women and other vulnerable groups, who are under desperate conditions.

The UN agencies are reportedly in need of about US$100 million in emergency aid for the African region, where 7 million people, or half of the population, are threatened by famine in Niger alone and half a million children will die from acute malnutrition unless they get help quickly, according Norwegian aid agencies.

Another 2 million people in Chad, several hundred thousand people in Mali, Mauritania, Burkina Faso and Nigeria are suffering from food shortages.