The United Nations World Food Program (WFP) said on Friday that it requires USD 213.2 million to provide food and common humanitarian services until April 2015, noting that so far USD 180 million has been received. "WFP is focusing on meeting the basic food and nutrition needs of affected families and communities in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone. More than 2 million people have received WFP food assistance since April", said Elisabeth Byrs WFP Senior Communications Officer - Geneva Spokesperson in a press briefin in the UN office in Geneva.
In Guinea, WFP has given food to some 432,000 people since April. In Liberia, WFP has also provided food assistance to some 577,000 people, and has reached more than 1 million people in Sierra Leone, she explained.
For November alone, WFP dispatched more than 10,000 metric tonnes (MT) of food for more than half a million people.
WFP is providing crucial transport and logistics support and key technical assistance (including construction, logistics, storage, and transport), particularly to medical partners.
The UN Humanitarian Response Depots (UNHRDs) in Dubai, Ghana, Spain and Italy have dispatched 1,423 MT (valued at USD 12.8 million) of relief items and support equipment to the region on behalf of WFP, WHO, UNHCR, UNDP, Irish Aid and the Swiss Red Cross since March 2014. Weekly dispatches are ongoing.
As of 10 December, the UN Humanitarian Air Service (UNHAS) had transported more than 3,400 passengers and more than 25 MT of light cargo for 55 organizations.