SALT LAKE CITY — The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints made its largest one-time contribution to a humanitarian organization: $32 million to the United Nations World Food Program to combat the existing global food crisis.
The World Food Programme will use the budget to supply food and aid to nine countries, bringing 1. 6 million of the most vulnerable people “to the brink of famine” due to global conflicts and the brutal herbal errors that accompany climate change.
The nine countries — Afghanistan, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Ethiopia, Haiti, Kenya, Nigeria, Somalia, South Sudan and Yemen — are in what the organization calls a “ring of fire,” which stretches along the dry room from Central America to Central and Northwest Africa and the Middle East.
Bishop L. Todd Budge, counselor in the church’s presiding bishopric, presented the donation to the president and CEO of the U. S. World Food Program. Barron Segar and Deputy Executive Director of Partnerships and Advocacy Ute Klamert at the organization’s headquarters in Rome on Wednesday.
“We are so grateful to work with the World Food Program because we know they will provide food to those who need it most,” Bishop Budge said in a message from the church. “And we thank the Latter-day Saints and friends of religion whose monetary sacrifices made this gift possible. Such gifts make God’s youth a little happier and all of us a little holier.
WFP is the largest humanitarian organization in the world. Their project is to “(save) lives in emergencies and use food aid to pave the way to peace, stability and prosperity for others recovering from conflict, crisis and the effect of climate change. “In Somalia, the programme provided record levels of humanitarian assistance to avert the predicted famine, and in Yemen, it provided food assistance to more than a portion of the country’s population.
Due to climate disasters, the COVID-19 pandemic and its effect on the global economy, the war in Ukraine and other conflicts around the world, a record 345 million people face severe food insecurity, adding 50 million “at the breaking point of famine,” according to WFP’s website.
“At this time of unprecedented global need, we are grateful for the transforming gift of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints,” Segar said in a statement. “The private sector is central to our mission, enabling WFP to scale up food assistance. and resilience paintings that bring stability and comfort to families in those difficult times. I am confident that the gift of the church will motivate others to sign up for our motion to end world hunger. “
“We are content with this generous donation with gratitude and trust from the company in our ability to use it to supply food to the most vulnerable, reaching them when needed, helping them out of harm’s way, so they can and build resilience,” Klamert added.
The Church of Jesus Christ typically donates about $1 billion a year to global humanitarian efforts, according to a church member. The Church of Jesus Christ’s collaboration with WFP began in 2014. WFP Executive Director David Beasley visited the church’s welfare operations in Salt Lake City. in 2019; the two organizations have worked together to address hunger gaps during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“My center rejoices in the millions of malnourished young people who will benefit from this gift,” added Sister Camille N. Johnson, president of Faith’s Relief Society, a global organization for women. “Jesus has a tender center for young people. Cry to see them starve. And he rejoices with the slightest effort to help them. A huge thank you to the World Food Programme and to everyone who contributes in any way to this cause. “