The U.S. on Thursday announced 329 million dollars in additional humanitarian aid to provide urgently needed aid to the millions of people affected by food insecurity and violence in South Sudan, Nigeria, Somalia, and Yemen.
The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) said in a statement the funds will be used in emergency food and nutrition assistance, safe drinking water, life-saving medical care, and shelter for displaced persons and refugees, as well as protection of civilians.
The U.S. agency said the additional funding brings the total Washington’s humanitarian assistance for these four crises-hit nations to nearly 1.2 billion dollars since the beginning of 2017.
The UN warned in March that the world is facing its largest humanitarian crisis since 1945 as more than 20 people in South Sudan, Somalia, Nigeria and Yemen
It said these people are in need of humanitarian assistance as a result of the man-made crises in these four countries, all of which are driven by violent conflict and severe effects of prolonged droughts
In South Sudan, where famine was in February declared parts of the war-torn country, more than 7.5 million people are in need of assistance, including some 3.4 million displaced. The figure rose by 1.4 million since last year.
More than half the population of Somalia (6.2 million people) is need aid with 2.9 million requiring immediate assistance.
These crises are forcing people to flee within and beyond their country borders, disrupting agricultural production and livelihoods, and severing families from their social support systems. Enditem
Source: Xinhua/NewsGhana.com.gh
Read Full Story
Facebook
Twitter
Pinterest
Instagram
Google+
YouTube
LinkedIn
RSS