US donates additional $8 million to help fight east African locust invasion

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JOHANNESBURG – The US government has announced that it will provide $8 million to help control the locust infestation currently ravaging Ethiopia, Kenya and Somalia.

Speaking at a joint press conference with Ethiopian foreign minister Gedu Andargachew, in Addis Abiba, the US secretary of state Mike Pompeo said on Tuesday: “I am pleased to announce the United States is providing $8m in additional funding to support regional locust control operations in Ethiopia, Kenya, and Somalia.”

“We invest in people and prioritise global health and economic empowerment. Our investments uphold transparency and sovereignty. Our companies, too, employ local people, Ethiopians. Our track record of being a force for good when we invest economically is unchallenged,” said Pompeo.  

Somalia, Ethiopia and Kenya have been hit by the worst outbreak of desert locusts in decades, according to the United Nations (UN), which earlier this month called for urgent action to avoid a humanitarian crisis because of crop and pasture destruction.