Saudi Arabia has offered
to contribute $500 million to the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) to help with efforts to combat the global food crisis.
The United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said the offer, made under the guidance of King Abdullah Bin Abdulaziz al-Saud, the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, means the WFP has achieved its target of $755 million to deal with the recent surge in food and fuel costs.
“The Secretary-General notes that this contribution of an unprecedented size and generosity comes not a moment too soon, given the needs of millions of people dependent on food rations,” the statement added.
The UN relief chief, Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs John Holmes had earlier this month announced that $100 million is being reserved from the Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) to tackle the immediate issues stemming from the food crisis.
In June, the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) will host a major summit at its Rome headquarters to discuss how agriculture can be harnessed to produce enough food to meet the demands of the world’s growing population.
