São Paulo – The Brazilian Cooperation Agency (ABC) has donated BRL 1.2 million (USD 367,200) to the World Food Programme (WFP) to be re-directed to Algeria, South Sudan and Haiti. The funds are to be used with the purchase of food to people in need in the three aforementioned countries.
In a statement, WFP says that Algeria hosts refugees from Western Sahara and that the program is facing obstacles to provide food to this population. South Sudan is going through a serious political crisis and civil war, while Haiti is suffering the consequences of a hurricane that hit the country in October and that impacted two million people.
WFP’s website points out that Algeria has been sheltering refugees from Western Sahara since 1975. These refugees go to five refugee camps near the city of Tindouf, Western Algeria. The desert climate of the region reduces the chances of the population to plant their own food, making them dependent of humanitarian aid to survive.
The WFP currently is the main source of food to these refugees living in the Arab country. In Algeria, the program distributes 90,000 food baskets per month, plus 35,000 supplementary food baskets.
The composition of the donated food baskets can vary, but usually they include cereals such as rice and barley; grains, such as lentils, beans and chickpeas; plus sugar, vegetable oils, wheat flour and other variety of foods.
*Translated by Sérgio Kakitani
