The Catholic pontiff, Pope Francis, in an
unprecedented move, has symbolically donated €25,000 to the Food and
Agricultural Organisation (FAO's) efforts supporting people facing food insecurity
and famine in East Africa, reports NaijaAgroNet.
Pope Francis said the funds are "a
symbolic contribution to an FAO programme that provides seeds to rural families
in areas affected by the combined effects of conflicts and drought."
The pontiff's remarks were contained in a
letter to FAO Director-General José Graziano da Silva by Monsignor Fernando
Chica Arellano, Permanent Observer of the Holy See to the UN food agencies in
Rome.
Pope Francis' gesture stemmed from a pledge he
made in a message to FAO's Conference on 3 July 2017 and was "inspired
also by the desire to encourage Governments," Monsignor Chica wrote in the
letter.
Famine was declared in parts of South Sudan in
February and while the situation has eased after a
significant scaling up in the humanitarian response, some 6 million people in
the country are still struggling to find enough food every day.
Meanwhile the number of people in need of
humanitarian assistance in five other East African countries - Somalia,
Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda - is currently estimated at about 16
million, which marks an increase of about 30 percent since late 2016.
Pope Francis, who has made solidarity a major
theme of his pontificate, is set to visit FAO's headquarters on 16 October to
mark World Food Day. This
year the event is being held under the slogan: "Change the future of
migration. Invest in food security and rural development".
Isaac Oyimah/ED, ops
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