The U.N.'s World Food Program has announced that the U.S. is purchasing 150,000 metric tons of grain from Ukraine to provide for food aid likely to the drought-stricken Horn of Africa region which has been suffering from shortages caused by Russia's war and embargo of Ukrainian ports. David Beasley, the head of the World Food Program, said that region of Africa was facing famine after years of drought which have caused many thousands of deaths:
"[Beasley] called the situation facing the Horn of Africa a 'perfect storm on top of a perfect storm, a tsunami on top of a tsunami' as the drought-prone region struggles to cope amid high food and fuel prices driven partly by the war in Ukraine.
The keenly awaited first aid ship from Ukraine is carrying 23,000 metric tons of grain, enough to feed 1.5 million people on full rations for a month, Beasley said."
Beasley also criticized oil-rich Saudi Arabia for not stepping up to support the famine-relief efforts, despite record profits for their oil sales. China was also named as a country lagging behind in support:
"He warned that richer countries must do much more to keep grain and other assistance flowing to the hungriest parts of the world, and he named names.
'With oil profits being so high right now — record-breaking profits, billions of dollars every week — ... the Gulf states need to help, need to step up and do it now,' Beasley said. 'It’s inexcusable not to. Particularly since these are their neighbors, these are their brothers, their family.'
He asserted the World Food Program could save 'millions of lives' with just one day of Gulf countries’ oil profits.
China needs to help as well, Beasley said.
'China’s the second-largest economy in the world, and we get diddly-squat from China,' or very little, he added." (our emphasis)
It's not surprising either that Saudi Arabia and China have not stepped up in denouncing Russia's invasion of Ukraine, and in fact, in China's case, are supporting Russia's action.
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