By Boris Esono Nwenfor
BUEA, April 15, 2023 – Launched by Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in 2022, the “Grain from Ukraine” humanitarian program aims to ensure the transportation of agricultural products through Ukrainian ports and prevent hunger in the world’s most vulnerable countries. The program is supported by the International Coordination Group for the Prevention of Hunger (ICGPH).
Christopher Fomunyoh, Regional Director for Central and West Africa at National Democratic Institute (NDI) and a Goodwill Ambassador for the program, speaking to VOA’s Mohamadou Houmfa said five ships have already delivered grains to Ethiopia and Somalia and last week “We had the first ship to Kenya.”
On March 20, the Valsamitis vessel delivered a humanitarian cargo of 30 thousand tons of wheat to the Kenyan port of Mombasa. According to rough estimates by the UN World Food Programme, the 30,000 tons of grain delivered within the Grain from Ukraine initiative will provide bread for about 2 million people for 1.5 months.
“It was a very moving experience for me, who went there to represent all the Goodwill Ambassadors, to see on the faces of Kenyans, the smiles and joy that they will be able to get relief for a considerable number of months,” Christopher Fomunyoh told VOA.
“That is quite a relief for people who have now been exposed to more drought than Kenya has ever known in its history and who are at the risk of famine.”
Following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the U.S. accused Russia of using food as a weapon in its war against Ukraine, and, in turn, created a global food security crisis. Before the invasion, Ukraine grew enough food to feed 400 million people. And Ukraine and Russia together accounted for one-third of the world’s wheat exports.
“We want to hope that that is not the case (Russia using access to food as a tool of war). We have seen an increase in food prices, globally. We hope that Russia will continue to give its support to the Black Sea Agreement, it was a signatory to it and I am pleased that on March 18, when the first agreement expired, Russia also agreed to extend the accord,” Christopher Fomunyoh said.
“I hope that during this extension period, we will deliver more grain to African countries in need. It is not just for African countries as there is a shipment on its way to Yemen. I am hoping that the existence of this agreement will allow humanity to benefit from the generosity of the people of Ukraine.”
Ukraine’s presence in Africa is limited, having only 11 embassies across the continent. With this move by the country, despite facing a barrage of missiles every day, analysts say they expect an improvement and stronger ties between Ukraine and African countries.
Christopher Fomunyoh said: “I hope so. Many Africans were not familiar with the country of Ukraine, they also did not know the potential that Ukraine brings. I hope that as African countries engage with Ukraine, even if they start on the humanitarian front, they will be able to see for themselves what it is that they could benefit from in the area of agricultural technology, food production, supply chain and other benefits that could come in their bilateral relations down the road.”
The Grain from Ukraine humanitarian program was established to overcome the global food crisis, particularly in countries most affected by hunger. More than 30 countries and international organizations, including EU member states, the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Japan, Korea, and Qatar, have joined the Grain from Ukraine program, raising more than $200 million in donations. However, that is not the case in Africa where many countries have decided to stay neutral.
To Christopher Fomunyoh, many African countries in the past were in the block of non-aligning movements because they still feel that they have a lot of priorities of their own and they should not be pulled into global conflicts that could be prejudicial to their interests.
“Many of them (African countries) would like to stay neutral, but I think that you can still be able to benefit from this initiative which is not preconditioned on your country taking sides in a conflict like this,” Fomunyoh said.
