CAIRO: In a meeting at the Arab League headquarters, the World Food Program (WFP) asked its member states to expand their contributions to the program's operations in the region and elsewhere. "WFP has no secured funding base; we rely entirely on voluntary donations. For that reason, we are always on the lookout for new partners, whether governments or the private sector, James Morris, executive director of the United Nation's WFP, told the Arab League yesterday. "I have felt strongly for some years that we need to build more partnerships in the Arab world and this was the message I carried when I visited Kuwait, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates in September 2004, he added. "Since then I have been back in this region on a number of occasions and I have been heartened by the response. According to Morris, contributions from Arab League member states have already reached $62 million this year. "This is tremendous support and we are extremely grateful. But much more work needs to be done to build strategic partnerships. Morris hopes to get the Arab world to contribute 10 percent of the WFP's annual budget of $3 billion. In an interview with The Daily Star Egypt, Morris says that Arab contribution to the program stands at 2.5 percent at the moment but hopes to reach the 10 percent figure over the next five to six years. Morris notes that nine member states are already active supporters of WFP. He pointed to the efforts of the Saudi government, "whose generous donation made a positive impact on our programs in well over 15 countries in East and West Africa and Asia. "We are hopeful that your governments and the League or Arab states, with whom we have signed an agreement in 2004, will help us cope better with humanitarian needs and to confront the even greater challenge of chronic hunger that afflicts 850 million people worldwide, said Morris, addressing Arab League member states. While the donations of some Arab League countries go to both regional neighbors and elsewhere in the world, the rising conflicts in the region have brought the attention of governments closer to home. Morris has thanked Saudi Arabia for its swift contribution in providing aid to Lebanon, along with European countries, the United States, Canada and Singapore. "WFP did not even have an office in Lebanon. But with the rising conflict, WFP, as the lead UN agency for logistics, was responsible for moving all humanitarian supplies, including food, shelter materials, medical supplies, water, fuel and sanitary goods for the entire UN family and much of the NGO community. Meanwhile, there is a shortage in funds in the occupied Palestinian territories, especially the Gaza Strip and in Darfur in western Sudan. "Palestinian families, however, have suffered too long and I appeal to you to join us in helping them now, as so many of you have done for decades, Morris told the Arab League state members. "Out of the $100 million we need for our current two-year operation, we have received just under 50 percent: $45 million. Morris also thanked the Sudanese government for contributing $6.2 million for WFP's emergency operations in the country. In spite of the substantial progress in the cooperation between Arab countries and the WFP, it might prove difficult to persuade some governments to donate to other parts of the world while their neighbors are suffering from similar problems. Morris says that there are areas where hunger-related crises and the overall situation are "much worse than they are in the Middle East. But he explains that governments usually opt to support countries with which they have special relationships. Governments are concerned with the wellbeing of their neighbors, he says. Response to neighbors is usually quicker than response to crisis in more distant parts of the world. He gives the example of Saudi Arabia in the Lebanese crisis and Australia in the tsunami disaster. While expanding the reach of a government's aid consequently puts its relations with the world on an institutional level, in which wider concerns are discussed, Morris explains, there are other governments that invest their contributions to the program in aid within the borders of their countries. Some of the governments here are actively contributing to locally operational programs. The Egyptian government, like its Indian counterpart, finances part of the WFP work within its borders. Egypt is a regional beneficiary of WFP operations. "We have been assisting middle-income countries and whole economies are rapidly growing, like Egypt, Syria and Jordan since the 1960s. Today, we work with them to build their national capacities to enable them to self-fund and sustain various development projects. Egypt and Syria have already started contributing to their own WFP-assisted development project and they are contributing to WFP operations in other parts of the world. Morris explains that the non-political status of the WFP helps in expanding its reach. Thus, some governments or government officials choose to give their donations to the WFP whether in local or trans-borders operations. "Together we can do more and we must, Morris concluded his speech to the Arab League. Noting the sometimes-overlooked charitable nature of the regional culture, he said, "In the words of Prophet Mohamed, you cannot go to bed with a full stomach, when your brother and neighbor are hungry.
