The World Bank has stepped in to assist 62,000 residents of Kiribati's outer islands with emergency food supplies.
A two-million US dollar emergency food grant was signed in Hanoi during last week's annual meeting of the Asian Development Bank by executives of the World Bank and Kiribati government officials.
Kiribati imports most of its food and has been hit particularly hard by high and volatile food and energy prices.
Worst affected are the people living in the outer islands, where households already spend 50 percent of their budget on food.
The money will also be used to support the Kiribati government's development of sustainable programmes for food security and the environment.
