By Eric Ojo
The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) has said that Germany gave more than €1.7 billion ($1.8 billion) in support of the global fight against hunger in 2022.
Germany is the second-largest donor to the WFP after the United States. In 2021, German contributions to the United Nations agency had amounted to €1.2 billion.
Head of the WFP offices in Berlin and Brussels, Martin Frick who disclosed this in a statement on Thursday, noted that the German Government increased its contributions to WFP in the 2022 fiscal year.
“Germany is a driving force in the international fight against hunger”, he said.
Germany’s role, according to him, is evident not only in its support of WFP efforts around the world, but also through initiatives “that have established hunger as a security issue”.
He added that thepast year showed “how closely food security, energy security, conflict and the climate crisis are intertwined”.
Continuing he said: “Hunger is both a symptom and a cause, and it’s a lever we have to pull if we want to break out of this crisis spiral”.
According to the WFP, the climate crisis, skyrocketing food costs, conflict and the impact of Russia’s war on Ukraine have pushed the number of acutely hungry people to 349 million.
Among other things, German money enabled the WFP to transport and distribute Ukrainian grain after exports from Black Sea ports resumed. Other grants have benefited people in East Africa, the Sahel, Yemen, Afghanistan and Pakistan.