The US will invest an additional $55 million in food security relief for Nigerians.
Reports say the funding is part of President Joe Biden’s recent pledge at the G-7 Leader’s Summit in Germany to protect the most vulnerable nations from an escalating global food crisis.
According to a statement by the US Embassy in Abuja, the funds will be administered through the US Agency for International Development (USAID), under its agriculture, nutrition, and humanitarian assistance programmes. Also, it is designed to immediately help in addressing the economic, food and nutrition needs of vulnerable communities in Nigeria that were adversely impacted by higher food, fuel, and fertilizer prices.
The US Ambassador to Nigeria, Mary Beth Leonard, reaffirmed the commitment of the United States and the American people to improving the economic well-being and food security of all Nigerians.
Ms Leonard empathise with the hardships and suffering of Nigerian citizens, a situations, which she said, have been exacerbated as a result of the Russian invasion of Ukraine and its negative impact on food security.
She expressed the hope that President Biden’s initiative will significantly soften the blow of the war-related international price shocks.
With this funding initiative, US total investment internationally in combating the global food security crisis since the start of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine will reach over $5.6 billion.
The United States will use every tool available to address the humanitarian and long-term impacts of Russia’s war and other such shocks on global food security and nutrition, the statement added.
Writing by Hamza Alkali; Editing by Omotola Oguneye and Tony Okerafor