U.S. President Donald Trump has promised more than 600 million dollars in funding for humanitarian programmes, and additional funds to help feed starving people in famine-hit countries including Somalia, South Sudan and Yemen.
Trump’s pledge came during a working session of the G20 summit of world leaders in Hamburg, providing a “godsend” to the U.N. World Food Programme, the group’s executive director, David Beasley, told Reuters on the sidelines of the meeting.
He said the additional funding was about a third of what the agency estimated was required this year to deal with urgent food needs in the four countries facing famine and in other areas.
Trump’s announcement came after his administration proposed sharp cuts in funding for the U.S. State Department and other humanitarian missions as part of his “America First” policy.
The United States has long been the largest donor to the WFP.
