Huhu
April 1st, 2005, 09:07 AM
SHANGHAI, China (AP) -- The U.N. World Food Program is making its final food donation to China after more than 25 years of providing aid, the organization said Friday.
A final delivery of 43,450 tonnes of Canadian wheat worth $7.2 million was due to arrive in the southern port of Shenzhen on April 7, earmarked for poverty alleviation projects in four poor inland provinces, the WFP said in a statement.
The phasing-out of aid heralds China's gradual emergence from decades of dire poverty and hunger, although incomes and living conditions in much of the country remain far behind those of the wealthy coastal cities.
China claims to have lifted millions of people out of severe poverty over the past two decades, and Chinese leaders this year promised to spend heavily on easing politically volatile poverty in the countryside.
Amid China's rise to economic prominence, its government now casts itself as global aid donor.
Beijing recently committed $1 million for U.N. programs to aid victims of the December 26 Asian tsunami.
The WFP began providing food aid to China in 1979, supporting over 30 million poor Chinese in meeting their immediate food needs and helping build up infrastructure in their communities through programs exchanging food for work and training.
The United Nations said in a recent report that large middle-income countries such China, Brazil, Malaysia, Mexico and South Africa can afford to eliminate pockets of extreme poverty themselves.
The report said such nations should assist poorer countries with expertize in climbing out of poverty.
A final delivery of 43,450 tonnes of Canadian wheat worth $7.2 million was due to arrive in the southern port of Shenzhen on April 7, earmarked for poverty alleviation projects in four poor inland provinces, the WFP said in a statement.
The phasing-out of aid heralds China's gradual emergence from decades of dire poverty and hunger, although incomes and living conditions in much of the country remain far behind those of the wealthy coastal cities.
China claims to have lifted millions of people out of severe poverty over the past two decades, and Chinese leaders this year promised to spend heavily on easing politically volatile poverty in the countryside.
Amid China's rise to economic prominence, its government now casts itself as global aid donor.
Beijing recently committed $1 million for U.N. programs to aid victims of the December 26 Asian tsunami.
The WFP began providing food aid to China in 1979, supporting over 30 million poor Chinese in meeting their immediate food needs and helping build up infrastructure in their communities through programs exchanging food for work and training.
The United Nations said in a recent report that large middle-income countries such China, Brazil, Malaysia, Mexico and South Africa can afford to eliminate pockets of extreme poverty themselves.
The report said such nations should assist poorer countries with expertize in climbing out of poverty.