Afghanistan: Vulnerable Afghans to Receive Saudi Arabian Dates for Ramadan

Source: World Food Programme
Vulnerable Afghans to Receive Saudi Arabian Dates for Ramadan

KABUL – Thousands of Afghan students and their families will be receiving dates in the coming months, thanks to a contribution from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP).

The donation of 54 metric tons of dried dates was officially announced to WFP in Kabul at a ceremony attended by Mohammad Saad Al Haqbani, Senior Officer of International Relations at the Ministry of Finance of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and Claude Jibidar, WFP Representative and Country Director for Afghanistan.

“The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia assists vulnerable people around the world including Afghanistan through its donated dates every year. Today’s assistance is in continuation of our annual support while we trust WFP has the capacity to distribute our assistance among needy people of Afghanistan.” said Mohammad Saad Al Haqbani.

The dates will arrive in WFP’s warehouses in early April and will be distributed to more than 27,000 students in Badakhshan, Nuristan and Nimorz provinces.

“On behalf of Afghan people and WFP, I would like to thank the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia for their strong partnership and generous contribution, which ultimately helps improve nutrition and school attendance in Afghanistan,” said Claude Jibidar.

The dates are not only a healthy snack for school children and their families, but are also a gift to help poor households celebrate the holy month of Ramadan. Additionally, they serve as an incentive for parents to send their children to school.

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has been providing annual contributions of dates to WFP since 2001, with a total of 4,000 metric tons contributed globally so far. Vulnerable Afghans have benefited from this donation since 2003.