The United States Agency for International Development is providing more than $97m additional funds for urgent humanitarian assistance to countries impacted by the coronavirus pandemic
The Assistant to the Administrator, USAID, Sarah Charles, made this known during the United States Economic and Social Council Humanitarian Affairs Segment, according to a statement the organisation released on Friday.
It said Nigeria would receive $35m to meet basic food needs for the most vulnerable and to safely facilitate the transportation and logistics of humanitarian workers and supplies to hard-to-reach areas.
“More than $97m in additional assistance to respond to the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic in Africa, nearly $83m of which is dedicated to address growing COVID-related food insecurity.
“This new funding will provide urgently needed food and nutrition assistance, health care, protection services, and psychosocial support for people in seven countries across Africa,” it stated.
Other beneficiaries of the funds include Democratic Republic of the Congo, Madagascar, Mali, Niger, Uganda and Somalia.
According to the statement, DRC will get nearly $3.2m in additional assistance to provide lifesaving health care, nutrition support, and protection for the most vulnerable, as well as rehabilitating health care facilities, and strengthening the resilience of communities affected by conflict and the pandemic.
Madagascar will get $2m in additional assistance to provide urgently needed food assistance, agriculture support, and water, sanitation, and hygiene supplies to drought-affected population impacted by the pandemic.
More than $9.2m will be given to Mali to provide food and nutrition assistance to people facing the compounding impacts of the pandemic and the lean season, and to facilitate the transportation of humanitarian workers and cargo to hard-to-reach areas.
Niger will receive $6m to provide food assistance and the treatment of moderate acute malnutrition.
The statement also said, “$20m in additional assistance for Somalia to provide emergency food assistance, including rations of sorghum, yellow split peas, and vegetables, as well as nutrition assistance for children, pregnant and lactating women, and other vulnerable people facing malnutrition.
“$22 million for Uganda to provide food assistance to refugees.”
The USAID has provided over $1.5bn in humanitarian assistance in response to the COVID-19 pandemic around the world.
