BANGUI – The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) has welcomed a US$16.85 million contribution from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) to provide assistance in the Central African Republic, where years of conflict have disrupted the lives of millions of people.

The contribution through USAID’s office of Food for Peace, will enable WFP to reach more than 528,000 people with food and cash transfers, and to provide emergency school meals to more than 165,000 children in extremely vulnerable communities throughout the country. The United States is the largest supporter of WFP’s response in Central African Republic.

“We thank the United States for this contribution that illustrates its unwavering commitment to stand by the most vulnerable families in the Central African Republic in time of need,” said WFP Representative Country Director, Gian Carlo Cirri. “Hunger is a dangerous reality for nearly half of the population after five years of conflict. This is not the time to leave vulnerable Central Africans behind.”

“The United States is deeply concerned about the humanitarian situation in the Central African Republic and this contribution reaffirms the United States’ commitment to alleviate the hardship faced by millions of poor and vulnerable Central Africans” said David P. Brownstein, Chargé d'Affaires at the US Embassy in Bangui. “USAID is pleased to continue working with WFP to provide assistance to the most vulnerable people in the Central African Republic.”

Hotspots of insecurity continue to emerge across the country, causing new waves of displacements and a sharp increase in humanitarian needs. Five consecutive years of reduced harvests, compounded by the disruption of markets and a decline in purchasing power have made it harder for people to feed themselves and their families.

Notwithstanding enormous challenges to reach people in a context where violence against aid workers has spiked, WFP is scaling up its interventions to assist as many as 1.1 million people with initiatives to address communities' immediate food needs while also engaging them in recovery schemes to help build sustainable food production systems.

The United Nations World Food Programme - saving lives in emergencies and changing lives for millions through sustainable development. WFP works in more than 80 countries around the world, feeding people caught in conflict and disasters, and laying the foundations for a better future.

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For more information please contact (email address: firstname.lastname@wfp.org): Cathy Diop, WFP/Bangui, Tel. + +236 21614926, Mob. +236 72187598 George Fominyen, WFP/Dakar, Tel. +221 33 849 6500, Mob. +221 77 639 4271