The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) has today announced more than USD 97 million in additional assistance to respond to the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic in Africa. Nearly USD 83 million of this is dedicated to addressing growing COVID related food insecurity.
This new funding will provide urgently needed food and nutrition assistance, health care, protection services, and psycho-social support for people in seven countries across Africa. Of this, USD 22 million has been allocated to Uganda to provide food assistance to refugees, according to a statement by Sarah Charles, the USAID Assistant to the Administrator.
To date, USAID has provided more than USD 1.5 billion in humanitarian assistance to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic around the world. Previously in Uganda, they have supported efforts to buy Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) for health workers and food aid.
Nigeria is the biggest beneficiary of the new funding with USD 35 allocated to meet basic food needs for the most vulnerable and to safely facilitate the transportation and logistics of humanitarian workers and supplies to hard-to-reach areas.
The statement shows that of the new funding, USD 3.2 million will go to DR Congo, USD 2 million in additional assistance for Madagascar to provide food assistance, agriculture support, and water, sanitation, and hygiene supplies to drought-affected populations impacted by the pandemic.
More than USD 9.2 million for Mali to provide food and nutrition assistance to people facing the compounding impacts of the pandemic and the lean season, and facilitating the transportation of humanitarian workers and cargo to hard-to-reach areas. USD 6 million was given to Niger and USD 20 million to Somalia.
