Finland responds to the WFP appeal
Press release 103/2008
27 March, 2008
Before Easter, on 20 March, the World Food Programme (WFP) published an urgent appeal for additional donations to alleviate the world’s food situation. The need for additional assistance stems from a shortfall in the WFP budget, which had reached about USD 500 million by the end of February. This shortfall is caused by the soaring prices of food and fuel, which are now at their highest levels in decades.
The WFP has made an effort to reduce costs by purchasing as much food as possible from local markets in assisted areas. The WFP has already had to consider cutting food rations or targeting them only for the most needy if the necessary additional funding is not obtained.
At present, the areas most urgently in need of aid include Darfur in Sudan, Afghanistan, Chad, Ethiopia, Kenya and Somalia. In Darfur alone, more than 3 million people need help daily.
Finland has supported the WFP since 1963. Finland’s annual general allocation to the WFP has consisted of a cash donation and a small amount of Finnish foods, which in recent years has mostly been rapeseed oil. However, transport costs from Finland to crisis areas have risen, reaching as much as 30 per cent of the total value of food aid.
In 2008, Finland will give its entire general allocation to the WFP, in total EUR 6 million, as a cash donation. By giving the allocation in cash, Finland wants to reduce the shortfall in the WFP budget and to promote the organisation’s ability to respond to the world’s food crises and meet emergency needs.
In addition to the general allocation, Finland has decided to donate another EUR 6 million as humanitarian assistance through the WFP. The total donation of EUR 12 million corresponds to USD 18.5 million, which is USD 3.9 million more than during the corresponding period last year. Some of the assistance given to other humanitarian organisations is also used for food.
The WFP has no statutory membership fee; its operations are based entirely on voluntary donations. Each year the WFP supplies emergency assistance to over 90 million people in up to 80 countries suffering from natural disasters, conflicts and other catastrophes.
Additional information: Tarja Reponen, Head of the Unit for Economic and Social Development, tel. +358 9 1605 6320, mobile tel. +358 40 832 1383; Counsellor Timo Karmakallio, Unit for Humanitarian Assistance, tel. +358 9 1605 6342, mobile tel. +358 40 727 5487; and Päivi Nevala, Adviser to the Minister for Foreign Trade and Development, mobile tel. +358 40 753 4375