The meeting organized by the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) is expected to launch a five-year strategy to scale up food security programs in 15 African countries including Ethiopia.

Disaster Policy and Preparedness Department head with IFRC, Mohammed Omer Mukhier told journalists that 43.5 million USD is earmarked for the implementation of the strategy which is a Pan African initiative aimed at working with intergovernmental organizations including African Union and donor communities.

Some 20 percent of the budget would directly go to beneficiaries thereby enabling to build the resilience of the most vulnerable communities in Africa, he said.

Some 3.2 million people would be benefited from the strategy in the next five years, he said.

President of the Ethiopian Red Cross Society (ERCS) Shimelis Adugna for his part said the meeting is aimed at building the capacity of the societies and to some extent governments so that they can respond better to food security.

Climate change and the rise in the cost of living all over the world make the initiative timely, he said and added that this international initiative will enable the ERCS to be better prepared to response the problem.

The iterative would give more resource for programs being undertaken by ERCS here.

He said “It will equip us with the required trainings and technical supports so that we will do our job better and reach more people.”

Since it has large population and is one of the most organized societies in Africa, Ethiopia is expected to be one the countries which will get the large portion of the money.

The strategy would officially be launched on the coming Thursday with the presence of representatives from the Ethiopian Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, the African Development Bank and the African Union.

Assignment-9:10-12:04 PM

R-12:17-12:57 PM

E- 1:00-1:13

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