April 23, 2003
Freetown, Sierra Leone
Contact: PAO Kevin Green
Tel: 226481
US Ambassador Peter Chaveas announces the donation of USD 1 million to the World Food Program (WFP) for refugee feeding programs in West Africa. The donation is part of a larger $15 million US contribution in support of WFP's assistance programs for refugees throughout Africa. The Fund comes from the US State Department's Bureau for Population, Refugees and Migration (PRM), and is in response to WFP's recent $83 million emergency appeal for Africa. It is intended to help avert previously anticipated breaks in the WFP food "pipelines" for refugees in Guinea, Sierra Leone, Liberia and Cote d'Ivoire. Such a break would have forced a reduction in daily food intake, resulting in increased hardship for refugees, especially refugee women and children.