Historic Saudi contribution: $500M to WFP appeal

'This extraordinarily generous donation is historic,' said WFP Executive Director Josette Sheeran. 'The Saudis are major players in global humanitarian action. Today's donation will keep many people from dying, others from slipping into malnutrition and disease, and will even help to stave off civil unrest.'

With Saudi Arabia's generous pledge, the special appeal for rising food prices launched by WFP in March has been met, and funds are now available for critical operations which have been insufficiently funded, especially in Africa and other parts of the world. WFP needs to feed at least 73 million people worldwide this year.

As the Saudi cash donation is not earmarked to any one country or operation, WFP has maximum flexibility to use the funds to address areas of greatest needs. These include helping to nourish millions of children - those most vulnerable to the effects of hunger - enrolled in school and therapeutic feeding programmes in Kenya, Cambodia, Yemen, Ethiopia and Somalia.

'This is a symbol of what can happen when humanitarians come together to rise to the kind of challenges and human suffering which face us in the world today,' said Sheeran.

Today's half-billion dollar contribution puts the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia at the forefront of the large-scale, high-level, multilateral UN action by the global community, focused on emergency and longer-term solutions to the high food and fuel price crisis which is sweeping the globe. More costly food is leaving in its wake drastically increased levels of hunger and poverty, and in some places, provoking riots and destabilising governments.

High food prices represent the biggest challenge that WFP has faced in its 45-year history. Analysis underway by WFP experts supports World Bank estimates of around 100 million people being pushed deeper into poverty.