CAIRO: The World Food Program announced on Wednesday that Germany was donating $31 million in an effort to boost emergency aid and life-saving programs in Yemen as the country faces massive shortages of food. In a joint press conference with German ambassador to Yemen Holger Green, WFP representative in Yemen Lubna Alaman said that the contribution is the largest donation that WFP has ever received from Germany for Yemen in one year and one of the highest ever worldwide. “We are extremely grateful for this incredible show of support in what is an increasingly dire situation,” said Alaman. “This remarkable contribution was perfectly timed as we are embarking on the scaling up of our assistance in response to the growing needs of Yemen.” She added that WFP was especially prioritizing 1.8 million severely food insecure Yemenis living in the poorest 14 governorates, including 635,000 women and children under the age of five. The move has been welcomed in Yemen by local aid workers, who told Bikyamasr.com that “Yemen needs all the assistance it can get right now.” The UN has warned the country could face famine if action is not taken. “We are excited to see Germany's donation and hopefully this will help the WFP create more in roads into delivering the aid to the people who need it,” said a Yemeni development worker, who asked not to be named as they work in a predominantly Islamic area of the country and have been targeted by militant groups. The German contribution would be dedicated to distribute more than 20,000 metric tons of food commodities for severely malnourished children and to support WFP's Food for Girls' Education program. For his part, Holger Green stressed Germany's commitment to support WFP in an unprecedented scope in light of the ongoing political crisis which seriously affected the lives of many Yemenis. “The German Government has decided to use a major part of its regular cooperation budget in 2011/2012 to address the humanitarian crisis in Yemen”, German ambassador said. BM ShortURL: http://goo.gl/MDD5O Tags: Famine, featured, Food, Germany, WFP Section: Europe, Food, Latest News, Yemen
