Minister of State Kitt addresses World Food Programme Global Meeting
Minister of State for Development Cooperation and Human Rights, Mr. Tom Kitt TD, has addressed the World Food Programme Global Meeting which is taking place in Dublin from the 7th to the 10th of June. The Meeting brings together approximately 250 of the World Food Programme’s most senior staff including the Executive Director, Mr. Jim Morris. It is the first such meeting in five years.
Minister of State Kitt praised the life-saving work of the World Food Programme, noting that the organisation is now Ireland’s largest partner in meeting global emergency needs. In 2003 alone, the World Food Programme fed 104 million people in 81 countries – delivering more than six million tons of food. The World Food Programme is widely perceived as one of the United Nations largest and most effective agencies.
Minister of State Kitt stated “I would like to pay tribute to all of you here this evening, and to your staff, national and international, who are playing such a vital role in the humanitarian arena. I believe your presence here in Dublin for this important conference is a reflection of Ireland’s growing role in relation to development cooperation and humanitarian relief.”
Additional funding of €1.5 million for the World Food Programme was announced by Minister of State Kitt. €500,000 of this is being immediately dispersed to address the urgent food security crisis as a result of the conflict in Darfur. The new funding brings funding from Development Cooperation Ireland to WFP this year to over €4 million.
Note for Editors
The World Food Programme (WFP), the food aid organisation of the United Nations, was established in 1963. WFP provides food aid primarily to low-income, food deficit countries, to assist in the implementation of economic and social development projects and to meet the relief needs of victims of natural and other disasters. WFP is a multilateral aid programme, which unlike most UN organisations operates on the basis of voluntary contributions pledged at irregular intervals.
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