The European Union has overcome a deadlock that would have forced an end to a food aid program benefiting 18-million of Europe’s poorest citizens on January 1. At a meeting in Brussels Monday, Germany ended its opposition to the program after earlier saying that the bloc’s money should not be used to fund it. The […]
South Korea Releases Humanitarian Aid to North, Ending Freeze
Posted November 8th, 2011 at 3:30 am (UTC-5)
South Korea says it will resume providing humanitarian assistance to North Korea through the United Nations after a one-and-a-half-year freeze. A Unification Ministry official told VOA Tuesday the government will release almost $7 million in funding that was allocated to the World Health Organization for assistance to North Korea in 2009. Seoul froze the aid […]
US Lawmakers Lift Hold on Palestinian Aid
Posted November 7th, 2011 at 5:10 pm (UTC-5)
U.S. lawmakers have lifted a hold on aid to the Palestinians which was suspended earlier this year in response to their bid for United Nations membership. Representative Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, head of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, says she will no longer block some $200 million in aid used to fund the Palestinian police force and […]
US Provides Additional Flood Relief to Cambodia
Posted November 1st, 2011 at 8:40 pm (UTC-5)
The United States is providing nearly $1.5 million to Cambodia to address critical needs in drinking water, sanitation, agriculture and livelihoods in flood-ravaged areas. The U.S. Embassy in Phnom Penh issued a statement Tuesday saying the aid will be supplied through the U.S. Agency for International Development’s Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance. The money will […]
China, Gates Foundation Sign Agreement to Help Farming in Poor Nations
Posted October 26th, 2011 at 8:35 pm (UTC-5)
China has signed a deal with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to provide health and farm technology to poor and developing countries. Gates, co-founder of computer giant Microsoft, said Wednesday that the partnership shows the critical role that countries like China can play in new ways to cut hunger and poverty. He said China’s […]
South Korea Blocks NGOs From Visiting North Korea
Posted October 25th, 2011 at 2:05 am (UTC-5)
South Korea’s Unification Ministry says it has denied permission for a group of private relief organizations to accept an invitation to North Korea. Officials with the Korea NGO Council for Cooperation with North Korea, representing more than 50 NGOs, said Tuesday they have been invited to the North to discuss “overall issues.” But the Unification […]
European Commission Proposes Refocusing Foreign Aid on Poorest Nations
Posted October 13th, 2011 at 12:20 pm (UTC-5)
The European Commission has proposed changing European Union foreign aid programs to focus more on the world’s poorest nations. In a policy paper published Thursday, EU Development Commissioner Andris Pielbags says the 27-nation EU must adapt the way it fights poverty to make sure that every euro of aid reaches those who need it most. […]
Doctors Without Borders Ends Work in Thailand
Posted October 6th, 2011 at 3:50 am (UTC-5)
A leading medical relief group says it is withdrawing from Thailand after 35 years in the country because of continuing disagreements with the government. Médecins Sans Frontières issued a statement Thursday saying it had failed to secure permission to provide health care to undocumented migrants and vulnerable populations, despite months of negotiations and discussions. MSF […]
UN Relief Chief to Visit North Korea
Posted October 5th, 2011 at 3:35 am (UTC-5)
The United Nations’ top humanitarian official says she will make her first visit to North Korea this month. Valerie Amos, the U.N. emergency relief coordinator, said in New York Tuesday she wants to raise awareness of the situation in North Korea, where the world body estimates that 6 million people are in urgent need of […]
China Announces Unprecedented Grain Aid to Horn of Africa
Posted September 26th, 2011 at 12:05 am (UTC-5)
China has announced an $82 million donation of grain and cash for drought relief in the Horn of Africa, saying it is the biggest donation of its kind since the Communist Party seized power in 1949. The official Xinhua news agency said Sunday the first shipment of emergency food aid left the Chinese port of […]
