By Amin Kef Sesay
On Friday 16 July 2021, H.E. Mr. Vadim Razumovskiy, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Russian Federation in the Republic of Guinea and the Republic of Sierra Leone, announced the donation of US$2 million by the Russia Federation to the Government of Sierra Leone through the World Food Programme (WFP) as support to food insecure and vulnerable households during the lean season period.
He made this announcement as he symbolically handed over 445 tonnes of vegetable oil procured as part of this donation to the Honourable Minister of Social Welfare, Madam Baindu Dassama Kamara, in the conference room of the Ministry of Social Welfare at New England Ville.
“This contribution is another proof of the friendship and cooperation that exists between our two countries in all areas since a long time,” said Ambassador Razumovskiy.
Accompanied by the Honorary Consul of the Russian Federation in the Republic of Sierra Leone, Mr. Hussein Basma and the Economic Attaché of the Embassy, Mrs. Aigul Goregliad-Murtazina, the Ambassador stated among other things in the area of cooperation between the two countries, the intergovernmental agreement on the free visa travel to Russia for holders of Diplomatic Service passports and the recent donation of 50 brand new dump trucks to the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development, which were distributed to local councils.
In her response, the Honourable Minister, Madam Baindu Dassama Kamara thanked the Government of Russia for ensuring that no one is left behind, and that the people in the most food insecure districts also benefit from this important safety net of the Government.
This donation will help WFP deliver critical food assistance to over 100,000 beneficiaries belonging to over 21,000 households, comprised of severely food insecure people, whose livelihoods have been impacted by the COVID-19 outbreak, and whose vulnerability will intensify during the lean season period when food becomes scarce and expensive.
The Russian funding will support beneficiaries across the most food insecure districts of Moyamba, Port Loko, Bombali and Karene. WFP will provide two months’ unconditional emergency assistance, including rice, pulses, and vegetable oil through food distribution.
“This generous donation is timely and will help to meet the food needs of the beneficiaries and ameliorate the double impacts of the pandemic and the lean season period on them,” said Steve Nsubuga, WFP’s Representative and Country Director in Sierra Leone.
WFP is the main multilateral channel through which Russia renders food assistance to the needy populations of other countries. Relations between the Russian Federation and the WFP have been developing dynamically since the early 2000s. The scale of this cooperation is growing in geography and quality.
WFP Sierra Leone will be implementing this contribution in partnership with the Ministry of Social Welfare, allowing for complementarity of efforts to address food and nutrition situation of vulnerable populations.
