New Donor Funding Allows WFP to Resume Full Food Rations for Refugees in Kenya.

NAIROBI, Kenya, April 7, 2017/APO/ --

After more than a year of ration cuts caused by a shortage of funds, new donor contributions have now allowed the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) to resume providing full food rations to refugees in Kenya’s Dadaab and Kakuma camps starting on 1 April.

With new resources received since the beginning of the year, WFP is now able to restore the full food ration for all refugees from April to July. However, the funding currently available for cash transfers – which make up 30 percent of the refugees’ food assistance – will last only until May.

With new resources received since the beginning of the year, WFP is now able to restore the full food ration for all refugees from April to July

“We are pleased to announce that can resume full rations for the refugees thanks to new donor contributions,” said Annalisa Conte, WFP’s Country Director for Kenya. “However, we are urging our donors to continue making new resources available to enable us to carry on providing this much-needed food assistance for 420,000 people.”

The following donors (in alphabetical order) have announced new contributions to WFP’s refugee operation in Kenya, allowing for the resumption of full-sized food rations: Canada (US$2.2 million), China (US$5 million), Germany (US$2.7 million as part of a multi-year contribution), Japan (US$2.2 million), Sweden (US$1 million), and the United Kingdom (US$5.1 million as part of a multi-year contribution). A US$22.5 million in-kind contribution from the United States has arrived in the country and is available for distribution.

Insufficient funding forced WFP to reduce the size of refugees’ food rations by 50 percent in December 2016. Prolonged ration cuts compromise refugees’ food consumption, nutrition and health.

Each month, WFP provides each refugee with a mix of food items – cereals, pulses, vegetable oil, and nutrient-enriched flour – and a cash transfer equivalent to a third of the minimum food requirement. The cash, sent through mobile telephones, allows refugees to buy food products of their choice from local markets.

Distributed by APO on behalf of World Food Programme (WFP).