The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) welcomed a US$ 1.5 million donation from the Government of Timor-Leste for the agency’s humanitarian response in Ukraine.
“This donation is for hundreds of thousands of Ukrainians, including people uprooted from their homes and are now in need of urgent humanitarian assistance both inside and outside of the country,” said Fidelis Leite Magalhaes, Minister for Presidency of the Council of Ministers. “As a country shares the painful past caused by war and conflict, we understand the impact the current crisis is having on the Ukrainian people. We hope our contribution can bring some relief to them,” he added.
Since the onset of the conflict, WFP has provided life-saving food assistance to more than one million people in Ukraine. WFP is scaling up its response, aiming to reach up to 6 million people in-country in the next three months and to support 300,000 refugees and asylum seekers who fled to neighboring countries.
“Timor-Leste is very concerned with the current situation in Ukraine. War and conflict benefit no one and lead to widespread suffering. We hope peace may soon prevail for Ukraine and its people,” said Juliao da Silva, Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation.
The conflict is driving up already high food prices, threatening food security for millions of families across the globe. Global food and fuel prices have increased sharply since the onset of the conflict with the price of wheat up by 24 percent in less than one month. Food prices had already reached an all-time high in February as the conflict started.
“At this hour of greatest needs, the donation will help WFP provide life-saving assistance to people in need both inside and outside of Ukraine,” said Dagang Liu, WFP Country Representative in Timor-Leste. “We thank the Government of Timor-Leste for their generosity and solidarity with the people of Ukraine.”
See also: 🔴 LIVE UPDATES | Humanitarian response to Ukraine crisis