OVER $1 MILLION PLEDGED FOR WORLD FOOD PROGRAMME BY SIX MEMBER STATES

Press Release
GA/9804
WFP/1057

OVER $1 MILLION PLEDGED FOR WORLD FOOD PROGRAMME BY SIX MEMBER STATES

Six Member States pledged over $1 million this afternoon during the 2000 United Nations/Food and Agriculture Organization Pledging Conference for the World Food Programme (WFP).

The WFP Executive Director, Catherine Bertini, thanked those countries that had made pledges today. She welcomed the continuation of new or increased contributions. Of the top 20 donor countries that made the bulk of the contributions, more than half had increased their contributions. All contributions were important as they helped to feed people worldwide.

The Board of the WFP had released a resource mobilization strategy, which she hoped Member States would read. She assured all donors that the WFP would do its best to get food to people when they needed it and would remain accountable to the donors who make that food available.

The President of the Conference, Abdulmejid Hussein (Ethiopia), said that coming from a region that the WFP had been deeply involved in, he hoped that support to the Programme would continue. During the recent drought in the Horn of Africa a big famine had been averted thanks to the efforts of the WFP and others.

At the outset of the meeting, Igor Vencel (Slovakia) was elected Vice- President of the Conference.

The Conference concluded with the approval of its draft report, which was contained in document A/CONF.194/L.1.

WFP Pledging Conference - 2 - Press Release GA/9804 1st Meeting (PM) WFP/1057 1 November 2000

Pledges Made

Country $US

Yemen 3,847

Oman 100,000

Angola 5,000

Nigeria 20,000

Morocco 2,000

China 1,500,000 _________

Total $1,630,847

The representative of China also pledged 400,000 rmb yuan for the WFP Office in China, $4 million for the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) and 400,000 rmb yuan for the Food and Agriculture Organization Office in China.

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