The UN World Food Programme (WFP) on Wednesday said it had received a 6.1 million Euro donation from the European Union to strengthen the resilience of communities in Northern and Western Bahr el Ghazal states.

A statement by WFP stated that the funds will transform the livelihoods of about 10,000 vulnerable families through capacity building and provision of agricultural inputs and tools to increase production, reduce food losses and enhance access to markets.

The statement quotes the EU Ambassador Christian Bader as saying the funds are part of the EU Emergency Trust Fund for Africa.

He said, “This programme not only addresses connectivity and food security, but also fundamental values and issues critical for a sustainable and inclusive socio-economic development such as promotion of social cohesion, peacebuilding, gender equality, human rights protection, job creation for youths and women, enhanced incomes for poor vulnerable households and, last but not least, environmental safeguards.” 

Matthew Hollingworth WFP Country Director in South Sudan hailed the EU for the support and said, "The empowerment of smallholder farmers is integral to fighting food insecurity and driving economic development.” 

The European Union is a long-standing WFP partner, supporting its emergency and development work in South Sudan. It has contributed €152 million to WFP’s operations in the country over the past five years