ROME –  The United Nations World Food Programme thanks the Republic of Korea for their recent decision on increasing their annual contribuition of rice aid to the program.

   The rice aid is destined for the life-saving operations ran by the World Food Programme and it is going to increase from 50,000 to 100,000 metric tons. The aid is estimated to feed around 6 million people for 3 to 6 months in a year. Since 2018, the Republic’s commitment shown through the contributions has supported more than 3 million people per year. 

 Cindy McCain, WFP Executive Director, highlighted the importance of the decision taken, “The Republic of Korea is a great example of how a country can go from receiving aid to a generous donor […] within one generation, the Republic of Korea has overcome hunger to become one of the world’s most developed nations and now a committed partner to WFP, supporting us reach millions of hungry people across the globe.”

 The announcement was made by President Seok-yeol Yoon at the G7 summit in Hiroshima, Japan.

 According to WFP analysis, around 345 million people are currently facing notorious levels of food insecurity, an increase of almost 200 million since the beginning of 2020. Of these, 43 million are known to be just one step away from famine. WFP calls on G7 countries to keep their focus on hunger as conflict, extreme climate and economic shocks push more and more people into desperation.

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