UN Seeks $266 Mn To Feed Refugees In Covid-hit E.Africa

Nairobi, March 2 (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 2nd Mar, 2021 ) :The United Nations launched an appeal on Tuesday for $266 million (221 million Euros) to help feed more than three million refugees and asylum seekers across East Africa, suffering extra hardship because of the coronavirus pandemic.

Lockdowns and other measures to contain the contagion have made it more difficult for refugees to get food or earn money, said the High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and the UN World Food Programme (WFP) in a joint statement.

"We've never had such a terrible funding situation for refugees," said WFP's regional director for East Africa, Michael Dunford, adding that $266 million was needed for the next six months just to cover refugees' minimum needs.

The UNHCR estimates almost three-quarters of some 4.7 million refugees living in the 11 countries where it works in the region do not have enough to eat.

"The pandemic has been devastating for everyone, but for refugees even more so," said UNHCR's Clementine Nkweta-Salami. "Unless more funds are made available, thousands of refugees including children will not have enough to eat."