U.S. announces additional funding to deliver Ukrainian grain to world’s most vulnerable

Ukrinform received the relevant information from the U.S. Embassy in Ukraine.

“USAID will provide support through the UN World Food Program (WFP) to facilitate additional shipments of Ukrainian grain moving through the Black Sea Grain Initiative,” the report reads.

The announcement builds on the $173 million to date in existing U.S. support to WFP to purchase Ukrainian grain to feed people in countries facing the most severe food crises, including Ethiopia, Yemen, and Afghanistan.

U.S. funding has purchased 210,000 metric tons of food, enough to feed approximately 12.6 million people for one month, USAID stressed.

Since the beginning of Putin’s war against Ukraine in February, the United States has provided more than $11 billion to respond to the global food crisis, including nearly $8.6 billion in humanitarian assistance.

USAID humanitarian assistance, including our support to WFP, includes direct food assistance, as well as other support including safe drinking water, health care, and protection to meet needs made even worse by food crises.

The report notes that USAID also continues to assist Ukraine’s farmers, who are risking their lives to feed the world, through the Agriculture Resilience Initiative - Ukraine (AGRI-Ukraine).

The initiative focuses on four areas that are critical to sustain Ukraine’s agricultural exports, and its contributions to global food security: providing critical inputs for farmers; improving export logistics and infrastructure; increasing farmers’ access to financing, and supporting crop drying, storage, and processing needs. USAID has invested $100 million in the initiative, and the agency is seeking to raise at least $150 million in additional funding from fellow donors, foundations, and the private sector.

As reported earlier, President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine during his address to the G20 summit called on the member states to join the Grain from Ukraine initiative, which is set to be implemented in partnership with WFP.

Within the framework of the program, Ukraine directs part of the harvested wheat, intended for export, for purchase to those African countries already facing problems of hunger. Part of the grain can be purchased by the nations participating in the project; Ukraine will supply it to poor African countries.

The first ship under the Grain from Ukraine program is heading through the "Grain Corridor" to Ethiopia, carrying 27,000 tonnes of Ukrainian wheat on board.