WASHINGTON – The United States today committed another US$2.5 billion (RM11.06 billion) in food assistance to Africa, pledging to help the continent cope with rising prices blamed in part on Russia’s invasion of breadbasket Ukraine.
President Joe Biden laid out the new commitment at the close of a three-day summit that brought nearly 50 African leaders to Washington.
Biden told leaders that the US was concerned about rising hunger triggered “in part due to Russia’s unprovoked war against Ukraine.”
“Today, famine once more stalks the Horn of Africa,” Biden said.
“Food security is an essential foundation for peace and prosperity. Simply put, if a parent can’t feed their child, nothing else really matters.”
He said the US also wanted to work with Africa on developing arable land.
“Africa has the potential to feed its people but also to help feed the world,” Biden said.
The White House said the US$2.5 billion would provide emergency aid as well as medium- and long-term assistance to stabilise the African food supply.
The US said it would also pursue a partnership with the African Union to bring together the public and private sectors and international financial institutions to address food needs.
The United States has already provided US$11 billion in food assistance for the continent this year, the White House said.
The Horn of Africa has been especially hard hit after successive failed rainy seasons, with the United Nations saying that aid has staved off full-fledged famine in Somalia. – AFP, December 16, 2022
