The country has donated 430 tonnes of dried dates to boost the World Food Programme (WFP) emergency programmes in Cameroon.
Over 200,000 needy refugees from Nigeria and the Central African Republic, Internally Displaced People and vulnerable local communities in the northern part of Cameroon and the East Region will in the coming days benefit from richer food supplied them within the framework of the World Food Programme Emergency Programmes in Cameroon.
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia on June 1, 2016 donated 430 tonnes of dried dates to the World Food Programme to boost its efforts in tackling the increasing humanitarian needs. The Deputy Country Director of the World Food Programme in Cameroon, Elvira Pruscini received the gift in Yaounde. She said, “the support from Saudi Arabia comes at a critical time when humanitarian needs in the country are increasing, especially in the Far North Region due to the ongoing-Boko Haram crisis which is affecting the food security and livelihoods of hundreds of thousands of vulnerable populations.”
Taking into consideration the religious context, she added that, “ This contribution also comes as the holy month of Ramadan approaches and the thousands of Muslim families among the refugees and local populations prepare for the traditions.” The annual contribution of dates to tackle humanitarian crisis, the WFP official said, adds to the timely contribution of 2 million U.S. Dollars by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in early 2015 to the WFP to help refugees from the Central African Republic to Cameroon.
The acting Chargé d’Affaire at the Embassy of Saudi Arabia in Yaounde, Khaled Saeed Alzahrani chaired the event. He said the refugees and the internally displaced people need support. He said the gift from the Government of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Salman Bin Abdul Aziz Al Saudn translates the commitment of Saudi Arabia to fight hunger and trouble in the world. The Saudi government will today in a similar ceremony hand over dates to the Cameroon government at the Embassy in Yaounde.
