The Republic of Korea has donated 5,000 metric tones of rice to support the feeding of refugees in Uganda, the World Food Programme (WFP) has said. The food assistance will help to feed an estimated 200,000 refugees during the months of July and August 2019, WFP added.
The donation will United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) today welcomed an important contribution of 5,000 metric tons of rice from the Government of the Republic of Korea to WFP’s refugee support operations in Uganda, which will help feed more than 200,000 refugees.
Korean ambassador to Uganda Ha Byung-Kyoo, said while handing over the donation at Nakivale refugee settlement in Isingiro district that: “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,”
He added that the Korean government and its people are deeply concerned about the suffering of women and children arriving in difficult humanitarian conditions.
WFP noted that the donation will support Uganda’s efforts to assist refugees who have fled conflict and hunger in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and other conflict 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 will help to diversify diets and improve nutrition among the most vulnerable refugees. The rice will replace maize in the July and August food assistance cycles in Kyaka II, Kyangwali, Nakivale, Oruchinga and Rwamwanja.
This is the second rice donation that the Republic of Korea is giving to Uganda’s refugees. The first donation of 5,000 metric tones from Korea was made in 2018.
