The U.S. is currently giving the most vulnerable people in Tanzania $9 million in critical food assistance through the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID). 204,000 refugees housed in camps in northwestern Tanzania will be able to receive life-saving food assistance thanks to this new contribution from USAID’s partner, the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP).
The WFP Country Director and Representative, Sarah Gordon-Gibson, expressed her gratitude for the United States’ ongoing and prompt assistance. She said this donation is essential due to the value of the food provided to refugees as well as the economic benefit to Tanzania from the local food procurement.
WFP Since 2020, when rations had to be cut to 68 percent of the bare necessities, Tanzania has experienced significant funding shortages. Long-term ration reductions jeopardize the health, nutrition, and food intake of refugees. Due to ongoing funding shortages caused by the scope and number of humanitarian crises occurring around the world, WFP is still unable to provide full rations for refugees despite this new funding.
The majority of the funding for the WFP’s refugee program in Tanzania comes from USAID, which contributes about one-third of the program’s annual budget. In addition to the US$4 million that USAID gave to WFP in February 2022, today’s cash contribution of US$9 million will be used to purchase over 12,000 metric tonnes of locally produced fortified maize meal for the food baskets that support refugees living in Tanzania’s two refugee camps.
Dr. Donald J. Wright, the US ambassador to Tanzania, urged the Tanzanian government to make sure that all vulnerable migrants inside the nation have their humanitarian needs met during his remarks at the event.
“These problems – lack of access to livelihood opportunities, limited healthcare and education services, and malnutrition – are exacerbated by instability and rises in prices as a result of Russia’s unjust invasion of Ukraine, which is straining global food supplies, increasing fuel prices, and making the lives of Tanzanians – and refugees residing in Tanzania- more expensive and more difficult,” Ambassador Wright said.
Each refugee receives a monthly food basket from WFP that includes salt, fortified pulses, vegetable oil, and fortified maize meal. Additionally, WFP offers nutritional support to young children under five, pregnant and nursing women, and lactating mothers.