Dakar,
SENEGAL
The
Senegalese government on Tuesday launched a food aid distribution operation to
help 1 million vulnerable households affected by COVID-19.
“We have just launched officially the delivery of food kits. This
operation marks the start of operations across the country,” said Minister of
Community Development, Social and Territorial Equity Mansour Faye at a launch
ceremony in the presence of several beneficiaries as well as local
administrative authorities and elected officials in Pikine, a city east to
Dakar.
The minister said
the distribution of food kits across Senegal is a large-scale operation that
involves the whole population, civil society, and politicians.
He explained that
this food aid would be distributed to 1 million households, representing around
8 to 10 million Senegalese. Each beneficiary household will obtain a total of
100 kilograms of rice, 10 kilograms of sugar, 10 liters of oil and 18 pieces of
soap, which is worth about 66,000 Francs CFA (approximately 109 U.S. dollars).
In Guinaw Rail Sud,
a town in Pikine, where the food distribution debuted on Tuesday, some 3,207
households have picked up this food aid from the Senegalese government.
Senegalese
president Macky Sall announced in March the creation of a Response and
Solidarity Fund to deal with the impact of COVID-19, which would be endowed
with 1,000 billion FCFA (approximately 1.6 billion U.S. dollars), funded by the
state and donors.
According to the
Senegalese head of state, some 50 billion FCFA will be devoted to the purchase
of food for emergency food aid. About 900 trucks are mobilized to transport
38,755 tonnes of rice across the country.
So far, Senegal has
reported 823 confirmed cases of COVID-19, including 9 deaths and 296 cured
cases, since the outbreak of the pandemic in the country on March 2.
Senegal has
suspended since March 20 all of its international flights, while the state of
emergency and the dusk-to-dawn curfew have both been extended to May 4. - Africa
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