By REBECCA MUSHOTA –
SAUDI Arabia has donated food to Zambian families affected by drought in the past two farming seasons.
The King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Centre of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia donated 26,000 food baskets to the affected Zambians through the Disaster Management and Mitigation Unit (DMMU).
A representative of the King Salman of Saudi Arabia Emad Al saleh said that the donation was worth US$ 2 million.
He said that he was hopeful that the donation would provide relief to families affected by the dry spell experienced in  the recent farming season.
“Each pack has a bag of mealie-meal, a bag of rice, cooking oil, sugar, salt and biscuits,” Mr Al selah said.
Vice-President Inonge Wina said that many families had been affected by the 2014/2015, 2015/2016 dry spells.
Ms Wina said in a speech read on her behalf by DMMU national coordinator Patrick Kangwa that Government was mandated to provide for the affected families.
She said that Government could not however, immediately reach all the families and so help from partners was important.
Ms Wina said that she was grateful to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia for their help.
“It is important to note that this is not the first time that Zambia is receiving a donation from the Royal Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
“The Government remains grateful for this gesture as you lessen the food burden on the many lives affected by unfavourable weather conditions,”Ms Wina said.
She said the food would be distributed to Southern, Western and Eastern provinces.
Ms Wina said Government was happy that all the donated items were procured locally.
This was encouraging for local businesses.
Ms Wina said that the DMMU would ensure that the food is quickly distributed to the targeted families.
She said that Government was looking forward to further cooperation with various partners.