Cyprus digs deep for WFP

THE UNITED Nations World Food Programme yesterday welcomed a donation of US$350,000 from the government of Cyprus for impoverished Palestinians suffering the effects of a faltering economy and restrictions on movement in the occupied Palestinian territories.

The donation was announced during a ceremony in Rome at which Sotos Zakheos, permanent secretary of the Foreign Ministry, signed a memorandum of understanding with WFP to lay the foundation of a long-term partnership.

The Cypriot funding will assist some 12,000 disabled and disadvantaged children, vulnerable women and elderly Palestinians in cash-strapped social institutions.

The world’s largest humanitarian agency, WFP provides food aid for nearly 600,000 non-refugee Palestinians under a two-year operation due to run until August 2007.

According to WFP, the sharp decline in international funding to the Palestinian Authority in January has had a severe adverse impact across the territories, while the hostilities of recent weeks and the repeated closure of commercial crossing points is exacerbating economic hardship.

“Power outages at the hottest time of the year persist following the destruction of Gaza’s main power station, which supplies half the territory’s electricity. Most Gaza residents now have power for less than eight hours a day. With fuel costs equivalent to about US$15 an hour, few can afford generators,” WFP said.

This is the second donation by Cyprus to WFP this year. In April, it gave $50,000 to help victims of drought and HIV/AIDS in southern Africa.

The Cyprus Mail is the only English-language daily newspaper published in Cyprus. It was established in 1945 and today, with its popular and widely-read website, the Cyprus Mail is among the most trusted news sites in Cyprus. The newspaper is not affiliated with any political parties and has always striven to maintain its independence. Over the past 70-plus years, the Cyprus Mail, with a small dedicated team, has covered momentous events in Cyprus’ modern history, chronicling the last gasps of British colonial rule, Cyprus’ truncated independence, the coup and Turkish invasion, and the decades of negotiations to stitch the divided island back together, plus a myriad of scandals, murders, and human interests stories that capture the island and its -people. Observers describe it as politically conservative.