Mauritania receives royal donation for drought-stricken population

The government of Mauritania received Monday a Moroccan food load, as Royal donation to the drought-stricken population in this Maghreban state.

This is the first part of a "caravan of solidarity," made up of five trucks loaded with food products that will reach Mauritania shortly. The donation was handed to Mauritanian high commissioner for food security, Sidi Mohamed Ould Biya, by Moroccan Delegate Minister for Foreign Affairs and Cooperation, Taieb Fassi Fihri.

The donation, conveyed on board a plane of the Moroccan Royal Air Forces, came in response to a call for international assistance made last September by the Mauritanian government to face up the drought that hits southern and south-eastern parts of Mauritania. According to the World Food Program, nearly one million Mauritanians are threatened by drought and nearly 450,000 are to face a serious food crisis during the months of January and February.