On July 17, 2016, President Dieter F. Uchtdorf, Second Counselor in the First Presidency of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Church (LDS Church), presented a $3 million donation from the Church to the World Food Programme to help provide food to refugees and displaced persons in Cameroon, Chad and Syria.

One out of nine people go without food every day, and one in two are malnourished. The donation follows other partnerships between the Church and the World Food Programme, which aims to eliminate acute hunger. LDS Charities, the humanitarian arm of the Church, has partnered with the World Food Programme for three consecutive years.

In 2014, LDS Charities partnered with World Food Programme to help those affected by the Ebola crisis. In 2015, they helped alleviate hunger for those suffering from the drought in Ethiopia.

The World Food Programme has the largest transport network, which allows them to take food directly to those in need, including any humanitarian organization. The organization distributed 3.2 million metric tons of food, which directly provided food rations to 75.7 million people in 81 countries. Each of the rations supports an individual for 195 days.

In September, the Church sent $5 million to help displaced families amid the crisis in Europe. The First Presidency also encouraged Latter-day Saint women of all ages to assist refugees in their own communities.

Days after presenting $3 million to the organization, President Uchtdorf visited refugee camps in Athens, Greece. Hosted by Catholic Relief Services and International Rescue Committee, the president visited the Piraeus camp, which serves 1,322 people and the Eleonas camp, which serves as a temporary home to about 2,415 people.

The LDS Church “has been providing aid to refugees for more than a decade, donating hundreds of thousands of clothes, blankets, food, emergency medical supplies and other resources to refugees” in various locations.

– Jacqueline Venuti

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