17 April 2020, Rome - FAO Director-General QU Dongyu has welcomed a $10 million donation from Mastercard Foundation to step up the fight against the Desert Locust outbreak in East Africa amid concern about an imminent upsurge in numbers.

The Desert Locust upsurge continues to be alarming, particularly in Ethiopia, Kenya and Somalia, where it threatens food security and livelihoods. In the six East African countries worst affected or at risk of locusts - Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, South Sudan, Uganda and Tanzania - 20.2 million people are already experiencing acute food insecurity.

Full text available here: http://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/1271622/icode/