Ship with wheat for drought-hit Africa docks in Djibouti

A UN-chartered ship loaded with thousands of tonnes of Ukrainian wheat arrived in Djibouti on Tuesday, destined for some of the 22 million people at risk of starvation in the Horn of Africa.

The bulk carrier Brave Commander, which is carrying 23,000 tonnes of grain, has docked in Djibouti, a spokesman for the UN’s World Food Programme said in a brief email message to AFP, two weeks after leaving a Black Sea port in Ukraine.

Ukraine, one of the world’s largest grain exporters, was forced to halt almost all deliveries after Russia’s invasion of the country in February, AFP reports.

But Black Sea exports have resumed under a deal brokered by the UN and Turkey in July that lifted a Russian blockade of Ukraine’s ports and set terms for millions of tonnes of wheat and other grain to start flowing from silos and ports.

The WFP said earlier this month that the number of people at risk of starvation in the drought-ravaged Horn of Africa region has increased to 22 million.

“There is still no end in sight to this drought crisis, so we must get the resources needed to save lives and stop people plunging into catastrophic levels of hunger and starvation,” WFP executive director David Beasley said.