Maravi

World Bank to drop restrictions on food assistance

World Bank to drop restrictions on food assistance
By Kabanda Chulu
Thursday September 04, 2008 [04:00]

THE World Bank yesterday called for immediate action to drop restrictions on food assistance in order to ensure that food gets to poor people affected by rising prices.

During the High Level Conference on Aid Effectiveness in Accra, Ghana, World Bank managing director Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala stated that ending restrictions would help bring relief to millions of people suffering from high food prices and would be a sign of the international community's commitment to making aid more effective.

"There is no time to waste and difficult conditions on food aid should be removed to ensure that food gets quickly to where it is most needed and ending these tedious requirements to buy food aid from donors will go a long way to ensuring food gets to poor people hit hardest by rising prices," Okonjo-Iweala stated. "We cannot afford to let the world's attention drift when people are still hurting from high food prices, they need our support now."

The World Bank are also calling for the immediate elimination of taxation on humanitarian food aid and an end to export bans by key producers on shipments to the least developed countries and those in fragile situations.

"These three steps namely, removing restrictions and conditions on food aid, increasing contributions to World Food Programme and lifting export bans and restrictions on the movement of humanitarian food will protect thousands of mothers and children at risk from malnutrition," stated Okonjo-Iweala. "With 100 million people at risk of falling into poverty from high food prices, we are calling on the international community to increase contributions to the World Food Programme, whose funding needs almost doubled to US$ 6 billion this year."

Since the previous conference held in 2005 in Paris, France, nearly 60 countries have made progress in strengthening their national development strategies. But much remains to be done, particularly on donor co-ordination, and there has been slippage in some areas.

In some areas, the donor community has failed to fulfil obligations, including the commitments made at the G8 Gleneagles summit to increase Official Development Assistance to US$ 130 billion per year. Currently there is a US$ 39 billion annual shortfall.

Labels: ACCRA, FOOD, World Bank

posted by MrK @ 5:43 PM