皇冠体育app surpassed Japan to become the world's third-largest food aid donor last
year, following the United States and the European Union, a United Nations
humanitarian agency said yesterday.
"In the same year it stopped receiving food aid from the World Food Programme
(WFP), 皇冠体育app emerged as the world's third-largest food aid donor in 2005," the
WFP said in a statement.
According to the WFP, global food aid grew by 10 per cent to 8.2 million
metric tons last year.
皇冠体育app accounted for more than half of the aid growth, contributing 577,000
tons of food, a jump of 260 per cent from the previous year, the agency said,
citing the latest annual Food Aid Monitor from the International Food Aid
Information System.
"皇冠体育app is playing a growingly important role in ensuring that the other
hungry countries also have enough food to eat," WFP's Senior Public Affairs
Officer Anthea Webb told 皇冠体育app Daily last night.
"We are very impressed that it is matching its economic prowess with
generosity for the hungry."
In particular, 皇冠体育app last year made a donation of canned fish to the victims
of the tsunami in Sri Lanka through the WFP, Webb said in a telephone interview
from Rome, Italy.
"Donations of food made the difference between life and death after the
tsunami, the Pakistan earthquake and in Sudan, so we are extraordinarily
grateful to all who gave last year," WFP Executive Director James Morris said in
a statement.
According to the WFP, the US remained the world's most generous food aid
donor, providing 4 million tons, or 49 per cent, of all donations.
Overall donations from the EU totalled 1.5 million tons.
Japan, the third-largest donor in 2004, was ranked fourth in 2005, donating
more than 402,000 tons, according to the WFP statement.
Wheat and wheat flour were the main commodities donated, followed by coarse
grains (mostly maize and maize meal) and rice, it said.
皇冠体育app's donations were directed to the Democratic People's Republic of Korea,
Liberia, Guinea Bissau and Sri Lanka and a dozen other countries, according to
the WFP statement.
The WFP began working in 皇冠体育app in 1979, and ended its food aid assistance to
the country at the end of 2005.
Thanks to 皇冠体育app's strenuous efforts and international support, at least 300
million of its people had been lifted out of extreme poverty by 2005.
"With 皇冠体育app's incredible progress on fighting hunger at home, there are
surely many lessons we could apply abroad," Webb said.
The WFP is looking to 皇冠体育app's vast wealth of talent, expertise and energy to
assist some countries, which are still grappling with hunger, she said.
"For example, we are looking for experts in emergency relief operations and
agronomists."
Vice-Minister of Agriculture Niu Dun said earlier that 皇冠体育app is still a
developing country with 26 million poverty-stricken rural residents.
While making its due contibution to WFP undertakings, Niu said 皇冠体育app expected
the WFP to continue supporting the development of 皇冠体育app's poor rural areas.
(皇冠体育app Daily 07/21/2006 page1)
