A ship carrying Ukrainian grain has docked in the East African nation of Djibouti.
It’s the first grain shipment from Ukraine to Africa since the Russian invasion.
The shipment on board the freighter the Brave Commander has been arranged by the UN to get the wheat to countries at risk of starvation.
It should take about four days to offload and bag the cargo before it is taken by road to neighbouring Ethiopia, where over 20 million people are in need of food aid.
Ethiopia is experiencing the worst drought in 40 years, as well as a number of conflicts.
The shipment is a drop in the ocean compared to what is needed in the countries of East Africa – where drought is widespread.
Ethiopia, along with other countries in the region, is experiencing a prolonged drought. That, as well as the continued civil war in the northern Tigray region, has left some 20 million people in need of food assistance.
Djibouti is a tiny country with a population of 900,000 but it has one of the busiest ports on the continent.
Right now, workers have started boarding the Lebanese-flagged ship to off-load its precious cargo.
Two gigantic cranes have been positioned for the operation.
According to the World Food Programme (WFP) it will take about a week for the wheat to be bagged and taken by road to Ethiopia.
The organisation has paid for this shipment because its reserves to support refugees and people displaced by conflict and drought had started to run low.
Before the war in Ukraine, the WFP sourced three-quarters of its food aid from Ukraine and Russia.
“We really need to see increased shipments coming from Ukraine, Russia and others in support of what is a very dire situation today in the Horn of Africa and across the region,” Michael Dunford, the WFP’s East Africa director, was quoted on BBC.
But a resurgence in fighting between Ethiopian government soldiers and allied Amhara militia against Tigrayan forces could hamper aid deliveries.
Since April, the WFP has been able to get food, medicines and fuel into land-locked Tigray which is under government blockade.
But Mr Dunford said the organisation has had to put a halt to deliveries in the region.
“At the moment our operations in Tigray are on pause, while we assess both the security and the ability to reach the population. It’s devastating because there are over 13 million people in the three regions [in the north] that have been affected and need humanitarian support.”
According to World Meteorological Organization forecasts, there is a high chance of drier-than-average conditions in the Horn of Africa continuing. This means that the worst drought in more than 40 years, which began at the end of 2020, looks almost certain to persist.
In Somaliland and Somalia which also borders Djibouti, famine could soon be declared in parts of the country.
Across the continent the war in Ukraine has added to the difficulties many families have had to deal with.
According to the African Development Bank, food inflation on the continent stands at 40%.
While this latest shipment offers some relief in Ethiopia, the wheat will not make its way to shops and markets. But the UN hopes it will boost confidence within the private sector by proving it is possible to safely ship stocks from the Black Sea to the continent.
