The Republic of Korea supports vulnerable families in Madagascar
The contribution will enable WFP to reach 290,000 people for six months, starting in October, during the upcoming lean season – the period between harvests when families often run out of food stocks. It will also provide school meals to 190,000 students in 586 primary schools from September 2025 to June 2026. The activities will cover ten districts in the Anosy, Androy, Atsimo Andrefana, and Atsimo Atsinanana regions.
'This contribution comes at a critical time for communities facing food insecurity,' said Tania Goossens, WFP Representative in Madagascar. 'Thanks to the Republic of Korea's commitment, vulnerable households will be able to overcome the lean season and thousands of children will receive hot meals in primary school. We sincerely thank the Republic of Korea for their ongoing support and long-standing partnership in Madagascar.'
As recurrent climate shocks are aggravating 1.3 million people food insecure in southern and southeastern region, this contribution is especially critical in supporting the most vulnerable communities.
'This donation reaffirms the Republic of Korea's solidarity with the Malagasy people, particularly the most vulnerable children and families in the South affected by climate shocks. We are demonstrating our commitment to collaborating with the Malagasy government, through WFP, in responding to food emergencies and strengthening the school feeding programme' said the Ambassador of ROK in Madagascar HEM. Park Ji-Hyun.
Since 2019, the Republic of Korea has provided a cumulative US$30.5 million through various funding mechanisms in support of WFP operations in Madagascar. This strong partnership reflects ROK's growing commitment to combating hunger and strengthening the resilience of vulnerable communities across the country.
Distributed by APO Group on behalf of World Food Programme (WFP).
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Zawya
5 days ago
- Zawya
The African Development Bank approves a grant of over $5 million to strengthen public-private partnerships in The Gambia, Guinea-Bissau, Madagascar and Togo
The Board of Directors of the African Development Bank Group ( has approved a grant of $5.3 million to implement the Project to Strengthen the Public-Private Partnership Environment for the Promotion of Private Investment in The Gambia, Guinea-Bissau, Madagascar and Togo. The project, approved in Abidjan on 27 June 2025, will be financed by the Bank's Transition Support Facility (under Pillar III: support for critical capacity building and technical assistance interventions). Created in 2008, the Facility provides additional concessional resources to countries in fragile and conflict situations. The project aims to strengthen the public–private partnership (PPP) environment in four countries, with the goal of catalysing private investment. It is structured around three components: 1. Strengthening the PPP environment – This component seeks to create a more coherent and attractive framework for the private sector, operationalise the institutional setup for PPPs, and build the capacity of stakeholders. The aim is to equip contracting authorities to structure and negotiate more balanced contracts. 2. Enhancing private sector participation – Focusing particularly on local businesses, this component will provide a practical case study for PPP stakeholders. It will familiarise them with the different stages of a project cycle, using the tools developed under the first component. 3. Establishing an effective project management unit – This will ensure a stable, well-managed implementation environment, enabling strategic and operational oversight by the authorities. It will also ensure the project's achievements are capitalised upon and its results made visible. 'The project will enable the African Development Bank to build on its ongoing efforts to strengthen the business environment and promote the private sector in the four countries through previous operations. It aligns with the three pillars of the strategic framework for public–private partnerships, contributing to its operationalisation,' said Solomon Quaynor, Vice President of the African Development Bank Group for the Private Sector, Infrastructure and Industrialisation. Media contact: Alexis Adélé Communications and External Relations Department media@ About the African Development Bank Group: The African Development Bank Group is Africa's leading development finance institution. It comprises three distinct entities: the African Development Bank (AfDB), the African Development Fund (ADF) and the Special Fund for Nigeria (SFN). Represented in 41 African countries, with an external office in Japan, the Bank contributes to the economic development and social progress of its 54 regional member states. For more information:
Zawya
06-08-2025
- Zawya
Achieving sustainability in food system
As conflicts and climate emergencies worsen and the repercussions of the Covid-19 pandemic persist, a glimmer of hope is found in a report indicating that global hunger has decreased. The Independent Stakeholders' Report at the UN Food Systems Summit in Addis Ababa, co-authored by multiple United Nations agencies, found that global hunger declined slightly in 2024 after peaking in 2021 and 2022, thanks to progress in Asia and South America. 'It's inspiring to observe the global progress in combating hunger, but we must acknowledge that this progress is not uniform,' stated UN Food and Agriculture Organization Director-General Dr Qu Dongyu at the summit. Nevertheless, 8.2 per cent of the global population — estimated between 638 and 720 million individuals — continued to experience hunger last year, and the conditions were deteriorating, especially in Africa, where the rate stands at 20.2 per cent. "Famine drives unrest and weakens harmony. Hunger must never be viewed as a tool of war," Antonio Guterres stated during the summit, using a video link. Food security, which ensures that everyone has access to sufficient, safe and nutritious food, is a complex challenge with significant ethical, economic and social implications. It is not only about having enough food, but also involves the accessibility, availability and proper utilisation of that food, as well as the stability of the food supply. The report highlighted the significant distance remaining to achieve its objective of eradicating global hunger by 2030. Present estimates indicate that approximately 512 million individuals will remain undernourished by the decade's conclusion, with 60 per cent residing in Africa. AFP quoted Alvaro Lario, President of the International Fund for Agricultural Development, as stating, 'Global hunger statistics have shown minor enhancements when compared to 2022 and 2023." Nonetheless, advancements have not been uniform worldwide, as food insecurity persisted in many sub-regions of Africa and Western Asia. A worsening hunger crisis has plagued Gaza for weeks due to Israel's tight control over all resources, igniting increasing global outrage over individuals perishing from starvation in the area. 'Conflict persists in fuelling hunger from Gaza to Sudan and elsewhere,' stated UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres during his online address. The World Health Organization has alerted that malnutrition in the occupied Palestinian territory has hit "alarming levels" since Israel enforced a complete blockade on Gaza. During his speech at the Addis Ababa summit, Dr Saud bin Hamoud al Habsi, Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Water Resources, mentioned that Oman has made considerable progress in various food and nutrition security indicators. "Important initiatives encompass the Food Security Strategy, National Nutrition Strategy, National Climate Change Adaptation and Mitigation Strategy, Environment and Natural Resources Strategy, and the Genetic Diversity Strategy for Local Livestock," he stated. Oman stands out among the Gulf countries for its strategic planning and rigorous policies aimed at preserving its status as a food-secure nation. Self-sufficiency in food, characterised by reduced reliance on imports, is continuously increasing in the Sultanate of Oman. Guided by His Majesty Sultan Haitham bin Tarik, the country has developed a comprehensive food security strategy that outlines various goals aimed at enhancing the nation's food supply in areas such as production, importation, storage and distribution. Oman's 2040 Sustainable Agriculture and Rural Development Strategy seeks to enhance sustainability in the agricultural sector through investments, boost economic income, generate job opportunities for citizens, assist rural communities and address structural disparities in agriculture. The nation placed third in the Arab region and 35th in the Global Food Security Index for 2022. The index relies on assessment criteria drawn from universally recognised components of the food security concept, which include food accessibility, food availability, food quality and safety, food sustainability and adaptability, with a comparison encompassing 113 nations. 2025 © All right reserved for Oman Establishment for Press, Publication and Advertising (OEPPA) Provided by SyndiGate Media Inc. (
Gulf Today
04-08-2025
- Gulf Today
Chaos, gangs, gunfire: Gaza aid fails to reach most needy
The trickle of food aid Israel allows to enter Gaza after nearly 22 months of war is seized by Palestinians risking their lives under fire, looted by gangs or diverted in chaotic circumstances rather than reaching those most in need, UN agencies, aid groups and analysts say. After images of malnourished children stoked an international outcry, aid has started to be delivered to the territory once more but on a scale deemed woefully insufficient by international organisations. Every day, AFP correspondents on the ground see desperate crowds rushing towards food convoys or the sites of aid drops by Arab and European air forces. On Thursday, in Al-Zawayda in central Gaza, emaciated Palestinians rushed to pallets parachuted from a plane, jostling and tearing packages from each other in a cloud of dust. "Hunger has driven people to turn on each other. People are fighting each other with knives," Amir Zaqot, who came seeking aid, told the media. Palestinians climbo onto a truck as they seek for aid supplies that entered Gaza through Israel in Beit Lahia, northern Gaza Strip, on Friday. Reuters To avoid disturbances, World Food Programme (WFP) drivers have been instructed to stop before their intended destination and let people help themselves. But to no avail. "A truck wheel almost crushed my head, and I was injured retrieving the bag," sighed a man, carrying a bag of flour on his head, in the Zikim area, in the northern Gaza Strip. 'Truly tragic' Mohammad Abu Taha went at dawn to a distribution site near Rafah in the south to join the queue and reserve his spot. He said there were already "thousands waiting, all hungry, for a bag of flour or a little rice and lentils." Palestinians transport gallons of clean water from a distribution point in Gaza City. AFP "Suddenly, we heard gunshots..... There was no way to escape. People started running, pushing and shoving each other, children, women, the elderly," said the 42-year-old. "The scene was truly tragic: blood everywhere, wounded, dead." Nearly 1,400 Palestinians have been killed in the Gaza Strip while waiting for aid since May 27, the majority by the Israeli army, the United Nations said on Friday. The Israeli army denies any targeting, insisting it only fires "warning shots" when people approach too close to its positions. International organisations have for months condemned the restrictions imposed by the Israeli authorities on aid distribution in Gaza, including refusing to issue border crossing permits, slow customs clearance, limited access points, and imposing dangerous routes. On Tuesday, in Zikim, the Israeli army "changed loading plans for WFP, mixing cargo unexpectedly. The convoy was forced to leave early, without proper security," said a senior UN official who spoke on condition of anonymity. In the south of Gaza, at the Kerem Shalom border crossing, "there are two possible routes to reach our warehouses (in central Gaza)," said an NGO official, who also preferred to remain anonymous. "One is fairly safe, the other is regularly the scene of fighting and looting, and that's the one we're forced to take." 'Darwinian experiment' Some of the aid is looted by gangs -- who often directly attack warehouses -- and diverted to traders who resell it at exorbitant prices, according to several humanitarian sources and experts. "It becomes this sort of Darwinian social experiment of the survival of the fittest," said Muhammad Shehada, visiting fellow at the European Council on Foreign Relations (ECFR). Palestinians climb onto trucks as they seek for aid supplies that entered Gaza through Israel in Beit Lahia, northern Gaza Strip. Reuters "People who are the most starved in the world and do not have the energy must run and chase after a truck and wait for hours and hours in the sun and try to muscle people and compete for a bag of flour," he said. Jean Guy Vataux, emergency coordinator for Doctors Without Borders (MSF) in Gaza, added: "We're in an ultra-capitalist system, where traders and corrupt gangs send kids to risk life and limb at distribution points or during looting. It's become a new profession." This food is then resold to "those who can still afford it" in the markets of Gaza City, where the price of a 25-kilogramme bag of flour can exceed $400, he added. 'Never found proof' Israel has repeatedly accused Hamas of looting aid supplied by the UN, which has been delivering the bulk of aid since the start of the war triggered by the Palestinian group Hamas's October 2023 attack. A Palestinian man carries a bag of humanitarian aid he received at the Rafah corridor in the southern Gaza Strip. Agence France-Presse The Israeli authorities have used this accusation to justify the total blockade they imposed on Gaza between March and May, and the subsequent establishment of the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), a private organisation supported by Israel and the United States which has become the main aid distributor, sidelining UN agencies. However, for more than two million inhabitants of Gaza the GHF has just four distribution points, which the UN describes as a "death trap". "Hamas... has been stealing aid from the Gaza population many times by shooting Palestinians," said the office of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday. But according to senior Israeli military officials quoted by the New York Times on July 26, Israel "never found proof" that the group had "systematically stolen aid" from the UN. A Palestinian boy who was injured while seeking humanitarian aid at the Rafah corridor in the southern Gaza Strip. AFP Weakened by the war with Israel which has seen most of its senior leadership killed, Hamas today is made up of "basically decentralised autonomous cells" said Shehada. He said while Hamas fighers still hunker down in each Gaza neighbourhood in tunnels or destroyed buildings, they are not visible on the ground "because Israel has been systematically going after them". Aid workers told AFP that during the ceasefire that preceded the March blockade, the Gaza police -- which includes many Hamas members -- helped secure humanitarian convoys, but that the current power vacuum was fostering insecurity and looting. "UN agencies and humanitarian organisations have repeatedly called on Israeli authorities to facilitate and protect aid convoys and storage sites in our warehouses across the Gaza Strip," said Bushra Khalidi, policy lead at Oxfam. "These calls have largely been ignored," she added. 'All kinds of criminal activities' The Israeli army is also accused of having equipped Palestinian criminal networks in its fight against Hamas and of allowing them to plunder aid. "The real theft of aid since the beginning of the war has been carried out by criminal gangs, under the watch of Israeli forces, and they were allowed to operate in proximity to the Kerem Shalom crossing point into Gaza," Jonathan Whittall, Palestinian territories chief of the UN humanitarian office (OCHA), told reporters in May. A Palestinian man who was injured while seeking humanitarian aid at the Rafah corridor, is carried into a field hospital in the Mawasi area of Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip. AFP According to Israeli and Palestinian media reports, an armed group called the Popular Forces, made up of members of a Bedouin tribe led by Yasser Abu Shabab, is operating in the southern region under Israeli control. The ECFR describes Abu Shabab as leading a "criminal gang operating in the Rafah area that is widely accused of looting aid trucks". The Israeli authorities themselves acknowledged in June that they had armed Palestinian gangs opposed to Hamas, without directly naming the one led by Abu Shabab. Michael Milshtein, head of the Palestinian Studies Forum at the Moshe Dayan Center of Tel Aviv University, said many of the gang's members were implicated in "all kinds of criminal activities, drug smuggling, and things like that". "None of this can happen in Gaza without the approval, at least tacit, of the Israeli army," said a humanitarian worker in Gaza, asking not to be named. Agence France-Presse
