The Weeknd Partners With World Food Program USA, Donates $1M To Help Ethiopians
Abel Tesfaye, known to fans as The Weeknd, has made a donation of $1 million to World Food Program USA with the aim of delivering hunger relief to those affected by the ongoing conflict in Ethiopia's northern Tigray region.
The singer, who is of Ethiopian descent, claimed to be heartbroken by the turmoil going on in the African nation. His donation will see to the aforementioned organization, the U.S. affiliate of the United Nations World Food Programme, providing 2 million meals for the people in the stricken region.
World Food Program USA announced the following on its website on Sunday:
"This generous gift will support the U.N. World Food Programme’s efforts to ramp up emergency food assistance response to reach up to 2 million people in the next six months. So far, the humanitarian agency has provided corn, rice and vegetable oil to 60,000 people in towns in the eastern and southern parts of the region. In addition to delivering emergency food assistance in Tigray, the U.N. World Food Programme has started providing nutrition support for vulnerable pregnant or breastfeeding women as well as children in the region, planning to reach 875,000 people. The U.N. World Food Programme has also delivered three rounds of monthly food rations in the two accessible and operational refugee camps in Tigray."
“My heart breaks for my people of Ethiopia as innocent civilians ranging from small children to the elderly are being senselessly murdered and entire villages are being displaced out of fear and destruction," The Weeknd said. "I will be donating $1 million to provide 2 million meals through the United Nations World Food Programme and encourage those who can to please give as well."
The government reckons around 4.5 million people will need assistance with securing meals for the better part of 2021 and has since sought help from the U.N. World Food Programme for 1.4 million people.
The emergence of the conflict last November exacerbated already ongoing problems in the region, with employment and income being lost during the peak harvest period, as well as a disrupted market and rises in the price of food and fuel.
“We are extremely concerned about the food security situation in Tigray,” World Food Program USA President & CEO Barron Segar said. “As poor households exhaust food stocks, people will fall deeper into emergency levels of hunger. This generous donation from The Weeknd will provide immediate lifesaving food for people who need it urgently.”
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