South Africa to give aid to needy African countries

The South African government has announced it will offer urgent humanitarian aid to four needy African countries.The announcement came after the four countries on Tuesday put forward urgent assistance requirements when the South African International Relations and Cooperation Minister Maite Nkoana- Mashabane participated in the Ministerial Meeting of the African Union’s Peace and Security Council (PSC) in the Mali capital of Bamako.Currently, the four countries which include Mali, Niger, Mauritania and Chad have been plagued by humanitarian crises. Their challenges have been aggravated by new developments, such as the influx of displaced persons and the increase in international organized crime.As a matter of urgency, the South African food and nutritional aid will be directly delivered to these crisis-hit countries as soon as possible, said the minister. Niger will be provided with an aid of more than 800 tons of fertilizer,11 thousand tons of animal feed for cattle and goats, 5000 liters of bio pesticides and 12,000 protection kits for pesticide-applying workers,100,000 tons of food grains, millet and sorghum for children and pregnant women, helping this country to fight current drought and food shortage as well as nutritional insecurity.South Africa will provide Mali with over 45,000 tons of millet and sorghum, dry seeds and potato seeds for the upcoming planting season, nutritional food for babies and children suffering from acute malnutrition. South Africa will also offer the assistance to other two African countries after assessing their requirements for emergency aids.