USAID starts new pre-positioning program in Dubai

USAID starts new pre-positioning program in Dubai    The U.S. Agency for International Development will officially start its overseas food commodity pre-positioning program in Dubai Tuesday.
   This program formalizes the agency’s efforts started in September 2004 by awarding a contract to Dubai Aid City and the Dubai Port Authority to handle and warehouse up to 30,000 metric tons of U.S. food commodities to help feed people in need.
   According to USAID, food commodities began arriving in Dubai at the end of November and were approved for final distribution to places such as Afghanistan, Kenya, Burundi, Indonesia and Sri Lanka.
   More recently, the Dubai facility has helped victims of the Dec. 26 South Asian tsunami disaster. Rice, corn soy blend and vegetable oil, valued at more than $5.5 million, are already on ships en route to Dubai. In addition, USAID’s Food for Peace office has released from Dubai more than 2,400 metric tons of vegetable oil and yellow peas. The shipment, which is destined for Sri Lanka, is worth more than $3 million and will reach about 850,000 tsunami victims.