(HNM) - The Australian Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced on May 29 that the Australian Government will contribute 29 million AUD (18.9 million USD) from the Humanitarian Emergency Fund to partners in the Middle East and Africa. According to this announcement, more than half of the funding (15 million AUD) will be used to address humanitarian needs, displacement and protection of people in drought-affected areas in Kenya, Ethiopia and Somalia; 4 million AUD will provide food and nutritional support to the most vulnerable in Yemen; 10 million AUD will support food for Lebanon and Jordan.
The number of people globally at risk of acute food insecurity has increased by 350 million since the Covid-19 pandemic, according to the Australian Government. Foreign Minister Penny Wong said conflict and climate change were driving unprecedented levels of humanitarian need, particularly in Africa and the Middle East. Australia was using all elements of its national power to shape the world for the better, including providing humanitarian assistance to the most vulnerable.
In a related development, the head of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) in Geneva, Director-in-charge of coordination, Mr. Ramesh Rajasingham said that the United Nations humanitarian response plan is in need of 2.56 billion USD to assist people affected by the fighting in Sudan.
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