This contribution is in addition to a contribution of €1 million received in April 2020. It will benefit Afghan and Iraqi refugees living in settlements in Iran.
At the same time, it allows WFP to assist vulnerable Iranians affected by natural disasters such as floods, earthquakes, locust infestation, and the socio-economic effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“The Government and people of Germany have steadfastly supported us since 2014 with funds for our refugee assistance program,” said WFP Representative and Country Director in Iran Negar Gerami. “Allowing us this year to use a portion of these funds for an emergency response to large-scale natural disasters gives us more flexibility to fulfill our mandate and for that, we are extremely grateful.”
WFP will primarily use the funds to provide both cash and food assistance to address the most pressing nutrition needs of refugee families. A portion of the funds will be used to locally procure monthly emergency family food packs for distribution in areas hardest hit by locust infestation and COVID-19, the combination of which has jeopardized the livelihood of the tens of thousands of vulnerable people in a number of provinces in Iran.
“WFP has been a close partner for Germany for many years to help those who are suffering from hunger and malnutrition. Especially during the Covid pandemic, it is important not to forget the most vulnerable,” said German Ambassador to Iran, Hans Udo Muzel, according to Tehran Times.
“That is why Germany will continue to support WFP here in Iran with another one million Euro to provide cash relief and food assistance for refugees and specially affected communities. This is part of Germany’s engagement for multilateralism.”
Over more than three decades, Iran has been hosting around one million refugees —the sixth-largest refugee population in the world. Iran is also one of the most disaster-prone countries in the world, hit hard in recent history by earthquakes, floods, locust invasion, and COVID-19 pandemic.