The German Government is making available an additional four million euros to the UN World Food Programme (WFP) to fund food aid for refugees in Ethiopia.

This multi‑year funding will help to sustain WFP emergency aid in the form of monthly emergency rations as well as cash-based transfers for more than 600,000 refugees from Eritrea, South Sudan and Somalia from now until the end of 2018.

“The refugee problem is a top priority for Germany. We are pleased to make this contribution towards improving the living conditions of those who have fled to Ethiopia,” stated Joachim Schmidt, Germany’s Ambassador to Ethiopia. “This is part of Germany’s ongoing commitment to support Ethiopia, the largest host of refugees on the African continent.”

Refugees in Ethiopia have only a few possibilities to provide for themselves as they are living in camps with only limited opportunities for earning a living. WFP will use half of these funds this year in order to alleviate the greatest hardship. The rest will help meet the refugees’ food needs in the coming years.

“This multi‑year support from Germany is critical, as it allows WFP to plan ahead and know with certainty that a portion of the refugees will be catered for until the end of 2018,” said John Aylieff, WFP Representative and Country Director in Ethiopia.

Since 2015 alone, German Government has made available more than 30 million euros for WFP operations in Ethiopia, thus placing Germany among the top five donors.

Ethiopia is currently home to more than 700,000 refugees, the highest number in any country in Africa. Of these, WFP supports more than 600,000 with essential monthly food rations consisting of basic foodstuffs such as wheat, vegetable oil, sugar and salt, as well as with cash, which allows refugees to buy fresh foods and essential household items.

WFP is the world’s largest humanitarian agency fighting hunger worldwide. It provides swift emergency aid in crisis situations and natural disasters. WFP development programmes also help to eliminate the causes of hunger in the long term. Each year, WFP assists some 80 million people in around 80 countries.