Ukraine has said it plans to send “at least 60 ships” from its ports by next spring to get food to Africa’s poorest nations under a new initiative launch over the weekend.
The Grain from Ukraine scheme is being organised by a mix of government entities, NGOs and private corporations.
“Our goal is ambitious and specific – to save at least 5m people from hunger,” said Ukraine president Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
The first three ships were due to leave Odesa for Sudan, Somalia and Yemen, although a German-funded ship has already left for Ethiopia.
“Three more vessels are currently going to the ports of Ukraine for loading. They will deliver more than 80,000 tons of food wheat to the countries that need it the most,” Zelenskyy said.
The Ukraine president said his country has “traditionally been one of the largest exporters of food in the world”.
"This year, unfortunately, is different. Russian troops surrounded Ukrainian ports. They blocked the export of our food. They put the world on the brink of starvation. They provoked a food crisis," he said.
“The rapid increase in the price of products undermines the economic security of ordinary people, the well-being of millions of families, domestic stability and regional security.”
The US Agency for International Development (USAID) has agreed to provide up to $20m through the UN World Food Programme (WFP).
French President Emmanuel Macron announced that France is providing funds to help the WFP deliver 25,000 tons of wheat from Ukraine to Somalia, as well as additional funding for the transportation and distribution of Ukrainian grain to Yemen and Sudan.
The Federal Chancellor of Germany Olaf Scholz said Germany will also “allocate funding” for further supplies of grain from Ukraine in coordination with the UN program.
Zelenskyy also suggested creating a new international institution with headquarters in Kyiv or Odesa, which will become a “new effective and efficient tool to prevent to global crises and quickly respond to them”.
“I am sure, we will be able to achieve results and overcome all threats only united, only together. We can win only together. Ukraine and the civilized world without war, without terrorism, without hunger,” he said.
Ukraine said it has exported more than 28m tons of grain, oilseeds and related products to world markets either through the EU-Ukraine Solidarity Lanes or the Black Sea grain initiative.
Russia recently agreed to extend the Black Sea corridor grain deal for a further 120 days.
