Japan sent USD5 million to bolster the operations of the World Food Program and United Nations Children’s Fund in Zimbabwe. The money will be used towards food distribution, HIV/AIDS prevention, flood mitigation, education, and health service activities. “UNICEF will also be using this extremely generous and appreciated funding from the government of Japan to support the expansion of Child Friendly Schools, which is a holistic effort for community schools to become centers of care and support for vulnerable children,” said UNICEF official Lotta Sylwander. “With more than 1.1 million orphaned and vulnerable children in Zambia, this is an extremely important initiative in protecting every Zambian child’s right to an education and to protection,” she added. “This important contribution comes at a critical time, just as WFP resources are dwindling for flood response. The resources will enable WFP to meet the immediate food needs of 240,000 People for one month under the Flood Response as families struggle with the crop loss,” added WFP country director Purnima Kashyap. (Press release: Zambia: Japan allocates U5D5 million to WFP and UNICEF/United Nations Children’s Fund)