OTAL ships aid cargo on behalf of the UN World Food Programme (19/05/03)
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OT Africa Line (OTAL), the specialist West African liner operator, has recently carried a number of important shipments to Monrovia and Freetown in West Africa on behalf of the World Food Programme (WFP). Initial shipments were of blended corn soya oil while further shipments comprising 500 tons and 1200 tons of vegetable oil will be despatched in the near future to Conakry and Monrovia.

Set up in 1963, WFP is the United Nations' frontline agency in the fight against global hunger and consequently the largest food aid organisation in the world. Currently employing over 2,500 staff, WFP fed 77 million people in 82 countries during 2001, including most of the world's refugees and internally displaced people. Furthermore, the agency fights deeply rooted poverty, illiteracy and despair lurking beneath the face of hunger. WFP emergency officers are experts in getting food aid quickly and securely to the most difficult places on earth.

Countries in which WFP operates include Liberia, classified as a least developed country with a low income and a substantial food deficit. The country is slowly recovering from a seven year (1989 - 1996) civil war, which left it completely devastated. WPF is focused on the provision of food aid to the neediest populations in Liberia.

WFP has also been addressing emergency needs in Sierra Leone by supporting the Government's efforts in reconstruction and rehabilitation. The main aim is to accelerate the process of resettling displaced inhabitants in their former villages and towns.

WFP's mission includes economic and social development. This includes providing help for countries such as Guinea, involved in severe political confrontation with its neighbours. This problem poses a great threat to Guinea's food security, especially along the southern border where Côte d'Ivoire's instability is threatening to spill over. WFP has initiated a School Feeding Programme, a community-based Rural Development programme in Middle and Upper Guinea, and an Emergency Food Aid Programme in forested Guinea.

These are just a few basic examples taken from the numerous tasks and missions which WFP undertakes, including active combat against HIV/AIDS and school feeding programmes in impoverished countries such as Bangladesh, India and Haiti.

OTAL's cargo shipments are an active contribution to the WFP and its battle against global hunger. The carrier is well-known not only for its maritime transport services to West Africa but also for its ability to deliver cargo to inland destinations throughout the region including land-locked countries such as Burkina Faso, Central African Republic (CAR), Chad, Mali and Niger.

OTAL's Marketing Manager, Rachel Bennett explains why she feels that this shipment and those to come are of particular importance to the company:

"As OTAL has such strong links with West Africa, home to some of the most vulnerable communities in the world, we are aware of the significance of these shipments and the assistance we provide to enable a large number of people to regain their economic and social independence."

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