The World Bank on Thursday approved a record $500 million (Sh53.5 billion) in grants and low-interest loans to help countries in Africa and the Middle East fight swarms of desert locusts that are eating their way across vast swaths of crops and rangelands.
Four of the hardest-hit countries - Djibouti, Ethiopia, Kenya and Uganda - will receive $160 million (Sh17 billion) immediately, Holger Kray, a senior World Bank official, told Reuters.