UN ship carrying Ukrainian grain to Africa docks in Djibouti port

By Tesfa-alem Tekle

September 1, 2022 (NAIROBI)  – An UN-Chartered ship carrying wheat from Ukraine to the drought-stricken Horn of Africa region arrived in Djibouti on Tuesday, said the World Food Program (WFP).

This is the first shipment of Ukrainian grain to Africa since the Russian invasion of Kyiv in February 2022.

The bulk carrier MV Brave Commander, loaded with 23,300 metric tons of Ukrainian grain, docked in Djibouti’s port city two weeks after leaving a Black Sea port in Ukraine.

“We have officially docked!  The first WFP ship to carry Ukrainian grain since February has just arrived in Djibouti,” WFP executive director David Beasley said on Twitter.

“Now, let’s get this wheat offloaded and on to Ethiopia.”

The food relief will be distributed within Ethiopia to the millions of people who are a risk of starvation.

Speaking from the port city, Mike Dunford, WFP’s East Africa regional director, said the food aid will feed 1.5 million Ethiopians for one month.

“So, this makes a very big impact, for those people who currently have nothing and now WFP will be able to provide them with their basic needs,” Dunford said.

The WFP said an additional US-funded 150,000 tonnes of wheat grain from Ukraine will be sent in the coming weeks.

After the Russian War in Ukraine, Moscow imposed a blockade on Ukraine’s Black Sea ports, forcing Kyiv to halt its global grain exports.

Given that Ukraine is one of the world’s top exporters of staple grains, the blockade raised fears of causing a global food crisis.

A settlement known as The Black Sea Initiative was reached between Kyiv and Moscow after the UN-mediated between both sides.

The Black Sea Initiative, saw a resumption in exports of halted wheat, other food grains, and fertilizers from three Black Sea ports early in August.

Dunford said the Black Sea Initiative is a step toward easing the situation.

“We’ve already seen a reduction of 15% in wheat prices globally since the Black Sea Initiative commenced,” he said.

“What we want to see is more food flowing.  We need, from WFP’s perspective, millions of tonnes in this region.  In Ethiopia alone, three-quarters of everything that we used to distribute originated from Ukraine and Russia”.

The United States welcomed the arrival of Ukrainian grain.

“The United States has provided over $5.7 billion to the WFP since October 2021. Since February, the United States has provided over $5.4 billion in humanitarian assistance to scale up emergency food security operations in food insecure countries globally” said a statement issued by the office of the U.S. Secretary of State.

“Ukrainian agricultural products are critical to global food security.  The United States supports Turkey’s UN-brokered deal to resume Ukrainian agricultural exports via the Black Sea, and we are closely monitoring Russia’s adherence to the terms of the deal”.

The statement called on Russia to immediately cease its war on Ukraine, which would do much to address the recent spike in global food insecurity.

(ST)