UN reports substantial pledges of food aid

An update by the UN Regional Humanitarian Coordinator on the current situation in Ethiopia said on Saturday that donors had come forward with substantial pledges of relief food assistance for areas affected by natural disaster. As of 23 May, 84.5 percent of the 836,000 mt of food aid for 7.7 people requested by the Ethiopian government in January had been resourced. The WFP had received donor pledges of 244,221 mt for an operation to distribute 253,000 mt to 2.3 million people over the first nine months of the year. A further 308,174 mt had been pledged through NGOs, while direct bilateral pledges to the government totalled 55,092 mt. The Ethiopian government had contributed a further 100,000 mt under a programme of local purchases and this was now being delivered to distribution points. However, the government now estimated that an additional 400,000 to 450,000 mt of cereals would be needed over and above the January appeal estimates.