The first shipment of Ukrainian grain to transit the Black Sea since Russia’s unprovoked invasion arrived in Africa on August 30 and will help feed people in the Horn of Africa.
An estimated 23 000 metric tonnes of Ukrainian wheat was delivered through the United Nations’ World Food Programme (WFP) with assistance from the U.S. government.
The grain delivered can process more than 60 million loaves of bread.
The grain will be distributed to communities in the Horn of Africa that are facing severe hunger after four back-to-back drought seasons.
“Ukrainian agricultural products are critical to global food security,” the US Secretary of State, Antony Blinken said in a statement.
Since February, the US has provided more than $5.4 billion in humanitarian assistance to scale up emergency food security operations in food insecure countries globally, Blinken said.
The US Agency for International Development (USAID) announced August 16 it would provide US$68 million in additional US funding to the WFP to help respond to the global food crisis.
“This relief is critical,” USAID Administrator Samantha Power said when the purchase was announced. “Before Russia’s full-scale invasion, Ukraine was one of WFP’s top suppliers of grain and the fourth largest commercial exporter of wheat.”
“Getting the Black Sea Ports open is the single most important thing we can do right now to help the world’s hungry,” WFP Executive Director David Beasley said.
