France to send more food aid to famine zones in Horn of Africa

France is sending on September 1 a new cargo of humanitarian aid to the beleaguered Horn of Africa, which is facing a worsening famine, official statements said. The French Defence Ministry is chartering a vessel that will bring 200 tonnes of food aid to Djibouti, where it will be handed over to humanitarian organizations. Half of the aid comes from donations from French agri-business and the other half from regional aid in southern France, the Foreign Ministry said. Once in the Horn of Africa, the food aid will be distributed to the UN World Food Programme, which is helping combat the famine which has mainly hit Somalia, but which has also affected Ethiopia and parts of Kenya. France already sent emergency aid by air to the region on August 10 and is participating in European Union and other efforts to combat the famine. Kuwait has also taken a leading role in helping alleviate the famine conditions in the affected region, sending donations and at least seven planeloads of supplies to Somalia and the region and dispatching teams from the Kuwaiti Red Crescent society to assist.