The annual session of the Board of Directors of the World Food Programme opened on June 18 with a high-level meeting on the Sahel, in the presence of the President of the Republic of Niger, HE Mr. Mahamadou Issoufou, also chairman of G5 Sahel, where WFP declared a level-3 emergency.

Martine Garcia-Mascarenhas, Second Secretary at the Embassy of Monaco in Italy, Deputy Alternate Representative to FAO and WFP, made a statement honouring the 10th anniversary of the partnership between the Principality and WFP and the 2018-2020 Development Assistance Strategy of the Prince’s Government, which makes food security one of its four priorities.

She announced the launching of a new partnership with the WFP on food fortification in Niger as part of the Nigerian President’s 3N “Nigerians feed Nigerians” Initiative, which responds to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

On the sidelines of the session, on the occasion of the centennial celebration of President Nelson Mandela’s birth ‘Be the Legacy,’ Ms. Garcia-Mascarenhas met with Sory Ibrahim Ouane, Director and Representative of the WFP Office in Niger, who welcomed Monaco’s growing commitment to children suffering from malnutrition – 43 per cent of children under five in Niger.