Summary:
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In Sierra Leone, four out of five households don’t always have access to safe and healthy food.
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This money will provide emergency food and development assistance to 68,000 people.
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The Ukraine conflict has worsened the global food and fuel crises, which has hurt poor households in Sierra Leone, says Yvonne Forsén, the WFP’s country representative and director.
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This will help them clear more land, grow rice, and make feed for chicken farms.
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“Between January and October 2022, the price of imported rice, Sierra Leone’s primary food source, went up by 40%, while the cost of locally grown crops went up by almost 100%.
The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) has given US$3.2 million to the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP). In Sierra Leone, four out of five households don’t always have access to safe and healthy food. This money will provide emergency food and development assistance to 68,000 people.
In August 2022, the Food Security Monitoring System determined that 81% of households in Sierra Leone couldn’t meet their minimum dietary needs. 15% of people required emergency food assistance due to acute food insecurity.
The Ukraine conflict has worsened the global food and fuel crises, which has hurt poor households in Sierra Leone, says Yvonne Forsén, the WFP’s country representative and director.
“People are now purchasing fewer goods with their income due to inflation, raising the hunger rate.”
With the money from USAID, local school feeding programs will be expanded, emergency cash transfers will be sent to the hardest-hit areas, and agricultural projects will be helped to make people stronger.
To help them with their immediate food needs, 40,000 residents in Port Loko, Tonkolili, and Pujehun will receive mobile money. In other areas, the WFP will give cash to 30 more schools in the Kambia and Pujehun districts so that 6,400 students may purchase fresh vegetables and the incredibly nutritious sweet potato directly from small-scale producers.
WFP will also give agricultural equipment to small farming communities and Mother Support Groups in the Falaba, Koinadugu, Tonkolili, Kambia, Moyamba, and Pujehun districts. This will help them clear more land, grow rice, and make feed for chicken farms. 95 farmer groups in charge of Village Loan and Savings Schemes will receive financial management training.
David Reimer, the American ambassador to Sierra Leone, said, “The United States of America is committed to helping the people of Sierra Leone achieve human development, and we are glad that this funding will help whole communities, including schoolchildren and small-scale farmers.” Reimer went on to say that this donation “underscores our goal to support community-led systems that can end the cycle of hunger and malnutrition and invest in local economies through school meals and agriculture.”
Between January and October 2022, the price of imported rice, Sierra Leone’s primary food source, went up by 40%, while the cost of locally grown crops went up by almost 100%. As a result, most households were forced to spend more than 75% of their income on food, according to data from joint government and WFP market monitoring.
distributed by APO Group on behalf of the World Food Programme (WFP).
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Analysis by: Advocacy Unified Network
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