The Gambia government has extended food assistance to the poorest and most vulnerable communities across the country.

About 100,000 metric tons of rice will be distributed from February to May 2021 targeting 42,750 households. 

“The food assistance prioritises families with less than four-months food stock, surviving on daily wages without regular income or remittances; households with malnourished children and chronically ill individuals, and women-headed or elderly headed households.

“This emergency food assistance targets some 342,000 people, 42, 750 households across all regions and municipalities of the country as part of its Covid-19 response,” government spokesman Ebrima Sankareh said in a statement.

“Each household will receive a 50kg bag of rice per month for a period of four months – February to May 2021.

“At a time when the country is witnessing a surge in the number of COVID-19 cases worsening the food and nutrition security status of the most vulnerable, The Gambia Government seeks to protect livelihoods and cushion the vulnerable households from hunger,” statement added.

Reporting by Adama Makasuba