The United States will buy about 150,000 metric tons of grain from Ukraine in the coming weeks to send to people facing famine and severe drought in the Horn of Africa, officials say. The grain will be shipped from ports no longer blockaded by the ongoing war, World Food Program chief David Beasley told The Associated Press. Villagers gather during a visit by the head of the World Food Program, David Beasley, to the village of Wagalla in northern Kenya, Friday, Aug. 19, 2022. (AP Photo/Brian Inganga) The planned shipment is one of many sought by the UN hunger-fighting agency and is more than six times the amount of grain now being carried by the first ship from Ukraine organized by the WFP to the Horn of Africa. One of the areas withering under severe drought is northern Kenya. Their communities face yet another failed rainy season in a few weeks that could lead to famine in parts of the region, especially neighboring Somalia. Thousands of people have died and about 22 million people are starving, according to World Food Program estimates. GLOBAL FOOD CRISIS ARISING FROM UKRAINE WAR HAS NO QUICK FIXES, EXPERTS SAY Beasley said there is a “high chance” the WFP will declare a famine in the coming weeks. He called the situation facing the region “a perfect storm on top of a perfect storm as the drought-prone region struggles to cope with high food and fuel prices driven in part by the war in Ukraine. The first aid ship from Ukraine is carrying 23,000 metric tons of grain, enough to feed 1.5 million people with full rations for a month, Beasley said. It is expected to dock in Djibouti later this week and the wheat is supposed to be shipped to northern Ethiopia, where millions of people in the Tigray, Afar and Amhara regions have faced not only drought but deadly conflict. Women walk to an outdoor market in the village of Wagalla in northern Kenya, Friday, Aug. 19, 2022. (AP Photo/Brian Inganga) Ukraine was the source of half the grain WFP bought last year to feed 130 million hungry people. Russia and Ukraine signed agreements with the UN and the Turkish government last month to allow Ukrainian grain exports for the first time since the Russian invasion in late February. But the slow opening of Ukraine’s ports and the cautious movement of cargo ships through the mined Black Sea will not solve the global food security crisis, Beasley said. He urged wealthier countries, including the Gulf states and China, to do more to help. Despite grain leaving Ukraine and hopes that global markets are beginning to stabilize, the world’s most vulnerable people face a long, difficult recovery, the WFP chief said. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP Beasley predicted that even if the drought ends, the global food crisis could last at least another 12 months – perhaps several more years for the poorest of the poor. The Associated Press contributed to this report.
