The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) Thursday welcomed a donation of 5,000 metric tons of rice from the government of Korea.
The donation is meant to support WFP’s refugee operations in Uganda, which will help feed more than 200,000 refugees.
“The Republic of Korea believes food relief is the first step in enabling refugees to restart their lives and embark on a journey toward self-reliance,” said Korea’s ambassador to Uganda Ha Byung-Kyoo, at the Nakivale refugee settlement in Isingiro district, where the donated rice was delivered.
He added that the Korean government and its people are deeply concerned about the suffering of women and children living in dire humanitarian conditions.
The donation supports Uganda’s drive to provide relief to refugees who are fleeing conflict and hunger in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and other areas in the region, and will assist the refugees to cope with the initial pressures of displacement, while enabling them to rebuild their lives, and peacefully coexist with their Ugandan neighbours.
“This is an extremely welcome and generous gift,” said WFP’s Country Director El-Khidir Daloum.
“It is also a significant one, coming from a country that has itself experienced war and displacement, and has since made remarkable efforts to rise from the ruins,” he added.
WFP will use the Korean donation to provide food assistance to 213,000 refugees as part of their monthly food basket.
The rice is to help to diversify diets and improve nutrition among the most vulnerable refugees and will replace maize in the July and August food assistance cycles in Kyaka II, Kyangwali, Nakivale, Oruchinga and Rwamwanja.
CN/as/APA