According to the recent United Nation’s announcement, about 12 million people of the Horn of Africa are in need of food aid because of one of the worst droughts to hit East Africa in decades. Along with the disaster, many Somalis are fleeing heavy fighting between the Transitional Federal Government (TFG) of Somalia and rebels, taking refuge in neighboring countries, which are dealing with their own drought situation.
Based on this, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has appealed to member states for their urgent support for the work of the U.N. agencies in responding to the emergency to try and avert a catastrophe in the Horn of Africa. Millions of people in Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, Uganda and Djibouti have already been seriously affected by the worst regional drought in 60 years.
In this connection, the Government of Japan, being concerned about this situation as well as cognizant of the critical need for “Emergency Food Assistance to the People Affected by the Drought and Conflict in the Horn of Africa”, has decided to contribute five million US dollars (5,000,000 USD) for Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, Uganda and Djibouti. The amount will be channeled through the World Food Programme (WFP) to help supply emergency food for this purpose.

The Government of Japan has already provided, in February this year, 6 million USD for the Productive Safety Net Programme (PSNP) for Ethiopia and 4 million USD for refugees in Ethiopia, totaling 10 million USD, as its food assistance through WFP. Japan has also provided 4.6 million USD for Somali refugees in Ethiopia through UNHCR early this year to alleviate their plight in camps.