Bill Gates donates $10m to fight locust plague

The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has donated $10m to help try combat the locust plagues terrorising East Africa.

The donation will be given to the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), following an appeal for funds from the body.

FAO Director-General, Qu Dongyu, thanked the foundation “for its generous support as the Desert Locust threatens to provoke a humanitarian crisis.

“I urge other donors to follow their lead so we can protect rural livelihoods and assist farmers and their families”, he added.

The UN has so far managed to raise around $33m but says that’s short of the $138m required to fight the locusts, which have now invaded six countries.

This is the worst invasion of desert locusts seen in Kenya for 70 years and the worst for 25 years for Ethiopia and Somalia.

According to the FAO, a swarm covering one square kilometre can eat the food of around 35,000 people, presenting a huge threat to food security.

Under the right conditions the locusts reproduce on an unthinkable scale, with the potential to multiply by 500 times in the next six months if steps are not taken to curtail their progress.

Photo: AFP