Tag Archives: UNICEF

August 22, 2012 · 1:32 pm

Charities Low on Funding to Help Suffering Children in Mali

 

Drought and conflict have caused massive displacement in Mali as families search for pasture. (photo courtesy WFP/ Daouda Guirou)

UNICEF says it’s only received 28 percent of its 58 million dollar emergency appeal to help conflict-torn Mali. The charity is providing nutrition, water, vaccinations and medicine to children suffering from the conflict and poverty.

A coup followed by a rebellion in Northern Mali has caused hunger and displacement for many thousands of families. Drought has also struck throughout Mali intensifying hunger and poverty.

UNICEF states, “Across the northern part of Mali, the global malnutrition rate is among the highest in the country. Schools have been closed for much of the year. Tens of thousands of families have been uprooted from their homes and exposed to violence and distress. Cholera has surfaced along the Niger River. Community coping mechanisms are being stretched to the extreme and risk failure, with negative consequences for children and women.”

The chaos has also placed children at risk of recruitment into rebel forces. UNICEF says it “calls on all parties to the conflict, leaders and community members to ensure that children are protected from the harmful impact of armed conflict and do not participate in hostilities.”

Families in Mali normally rely on stocks of food to help them through the summer lean season between harvests. These stocks would come from previous harvests. The drought though has meant far less food reserves to draw upon. Some reports show that families are resorting to eating cooked leaves. When drought hits families who are already living in poverty the impact is devastating.

Save the Children is working to rescue the most vulnerable in this hunger crisis. The charity is facing low funding having not achieved 50 percent of the fundraising goal for Mali.

Meanwhile the peak of the “lean season” is here with farmers and their families struggling to get food. Katie Seaborne, a Save the Children officer in Mali says, “I met with a woman called Mamou Traore in Diema of Kayes region in Southern Mali just on Thursday who explained how her husband’s crops lasted just one month. They have been trying to eke out a living ever since. Her four month old baby girl, Aissaita is now malnourished.”

Save the Children is supporting health centres which are treating these malnutrition cases including Aissaita. Without funding it will be difficult for Save the Children to carry on this work.

To donate to Save the Children visit their West Africa Hunger Crisis Fund.

For more information on UNICEF in Mali visit their web site.

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August 13, 2012 · 6:21 pm

Special Food Can Save Malnourished Children in Yemen

If enough packets of supplementary plumpy are brought to Yemen it can allievate much of the child malnutrition ongoing there. The plumpy is easy to store since it requires no refrigeration and packets are ready to eat. (photo courtesy of Plumpyfield)

UNICEF Yemen is reporting stunting rates among children at 71.4 percent in the Rayma governorate of central Yemen. Children who are stunted by lack of nutrition fail to reach expected height and weight for their age.

Another UNICEF survey revealed global acute malnutrition rates among children in the Lahj governorate of southern Yemen at 23 percent. Children who suffer this malnutrition have lasting physical and mental damage unless they are treated.

Child malnutrition is severe throughout Yemen. UNICEF says, “967,000 children suffer from acute malnutrition. In certain areas of the country, the acute malnutrition rate exceeds 30 per cent, twice the emergency threshold.” Until this crisis is alleviated Yemen will not be able to gain stability for its future. The question is, what action can be taken?

A full supply of supplementary plumpy (plumpy’sup) food for all needy children in Yemen would provide the nation with a break from the malnutrition storm. Supplementary plumpy, and plumpy’doz, are peanut pastes designed to keep children from falling into the most severe levels of malnutrition. When children reach the most desperate stage of malnutrition they are generally fed life-saving plumpy’nut. Yemen needs a supply of plumpy’nut too to treat the most severe malnutrition cases.

But if the rest of the child population at risk of malnutrition can be reached with supplementary plumpy you can prevent this last resort.

Dr. Wisam Al-timimi of UNICEF Yemen says, “Supplementary plumpy is the 1st stage to treat the moderate cases of acute malnutrition (MAM).” UNICEF is teaming with the UN World Food Programme to increase coverage of supplementary plumpy and plumpy’doz for children under two years of age.

Navyn Salem of Edesia, which produces Plumpy’Nut and Plumpy’Sup, says it’s a “good strategy” to treat children ahead of time with Plumpy’Sup to prevent their dangerous descent into severe malnutrition. Salem says it “costs less and it is of course better for the children to be reached sooner than later.”

Funding, though, will be an obstacle, as donations are needed so UNICEF, WFP, and other aid agencies can get the necessary supplies. These agencies rely completely on voluntary donations which are often hard to get even though food aid is relatively inexpensive.

Both WFP and UNICEF are limited in plumpy supply due to funding constraints. As of last month UNICEF Yemen only had 30 percent of the funding it needed for a $24 million program to fight child malnutrition. With extra funding they would increase the defenses against child malnutrition.

Support from governments and the public would go a long way toward stabilizing the country and preventing a generation of children from being damaged from malnutrition in the first thousand days of life.

UNICEF Yemen has a relief fund that the public can use to contribute funds to the relief effort. The UNICEF programs needs more support. Susannah Masur of UNICEF USA says “it’s been very difficult to raise money for the nutrition crisis in Yemen.”

The public can also contact the UN World Food Programme and ask about direct donation to their operation in Yemen. Governments can work with UNICEF and WFP and provide donations to make sure they have the resources on the ground to help all the children in Yemen.

Article first published as Special Food Can Save Malnourished Children in Yemen on Blogcritics.

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May 17, 2012 · 7:52 pm

This Day in History in the Fight Against Global Hunger

Winston Churchill once said, “The further backward you look, the further forward you can see.” As President Obama is set to make a speech about today’s global hunger crisis, it helps to look back on this day in history.

On May 17, 1946 Herbert Hoover addressed the nation as famine threatened to strike the countries devastated by World War II. Hoover had been appointed as a “food ambassador” by Harry Truman. Hoover set out to coordinate the global response and millions of lives were saved by this effort. As Hoover put it, the  world had to come together to master the famine.

Herbert Hoover (far right) served as food ambassador under President Truman (center).  Hoover, Truman and General Dwight Eisenhower (far left) made multiple speeches about fighting hunger after World War II in order to win the peace. (Truman Library photo)

The citizens of America responded, sending CARE packages and even having trains cross the country collecting food for the hungry. The recovery program for Europe after the war, known as the Marshall Plan, was built on a foundation of food and nutrition.

We face a new hunger crisis today, as conflict in Sudan, East Africa, the Sahel region of Africa, Yemen, and Afghanistan has escalated the ranks of the hungry. Also, drought has descended in many of these areas which has ruined food production. Children are dying from malnutrition.  Right now aid agencies lack the funding to keep up with the crisis.

The UN World Food Programme said earlier this month that 364 million dollars is needed right away to fight hunger in the Sahel. UNICEF Yemen is only 32 percent funded for this year for its relief work. The World Food Programme in South Sudan is short $132 million dollars for relief work.

Peace in these countries depends on whether there is enough food supply and nutrition, especially for the smallest children. If enough funding is provided, millions of children in these countries could be spared death or damaging malnutrition.

Peace is advanced if we save the children. This we know. Still, history gives hope that the world can respond to the threat of famine today. On this day in history the Greatest Generation was focused on defeating the last enemy of World War II: Hunger.

Listen to Herbert Hoover address the nation on May 17,1946 about the famine after World War II.

Read more about President Obama’s speech on global hunger at the Global Agriculture and Food Security Symposium on May 18th.

Article first published as This Day in History in the Fight Against Global Hunger on Blogcritics.

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January 29, 2012 · 4:16 am

How a Silent Guest Can Help Save Hungry Yemen

In a letter to the New York Times last February, I wrote about an emergency safety net plan to feed millions of hungry Yemenis suffering from high food prices.

Since that time, child malnutrition in some parts of Yemen has increased so much as to rival famine-ravaged Somalia.

Maria Calivis, UNICEF’s regional director, says, “This year alone, half a million children in Yemen are likely to die from malnutrition or to suffer lifelong physical and cognitive consequences resulting from malnutrition if we don’t take action. Malnutrition is preventable. And, therefore, inaction is unconscionable.”

Calivis adds, “Conflict, poverty and drought, compounded by the unrest of the previous year, the high food and fuel prices, and the breakdown of social services, are putting children’s health at great risks and threatening their very survival.”

Neither UNICEF nor the UN World Food Programme (WFP) received enough funding during 2011 to carry out their full hunger relief missions in Yemen.

These UN agencies rely on voluntary donations from the international community. If donors do not contribute, then hunger relief missions have to be scaled back or in some cases halted.

So what can someone do? Take action! UNICEF has a relief fund for Yemen. The World Food Program USA is also hosting a Yemen fund. You can even sign a petition to help WFP fight hunger in Yemen.

Or you can take in a “silent guest.” Starting in the holidays of 1947, the United States helped starving countries with a “silent guest” program. At mealtime, people were asked to imagine a silent guest at their table. Then they could mail the cost for feeding that silent guest to a committee in Plymouth, Massachusetts. This donation would buy a CARE package which was sent to hungry people in war-devastated Europe.

Today, maybe at your next meal, you could take in an infant child in Yemen who needs plumpy’nut to prevent potentially deadly malnutrition. You could send that donation to UNICEF which provides the plumpy so it can help treat all the cases of child malnutrition in the country.

Some of the countries who benefited from silent guest donations back in 1947 were Italy, Austria, France, and Greece. At that time Greece was recovering from a famine and facing a civil war.

Another country helped by the silent guest program was Germany. It is Germany that today has taken the lead in helping fight hunger in Yemen with a recent donation of $31 million to the WFP mission.

WFP will need over $200 million to feed millions of Yemenis during 2012. The rest of the international community should follow Germany’s lead.

The donation from Germany will help the emergency safety net plan which includes rations for 1.8 million Yemenis and also plumpy for infants. A school feeding program which has faced severe cuts over the last couple of years is getting a restart too.

The WFP Food for Education plan, which distributed take-home rations to schoolchildren, was suspended in 2010 and did not resume until May of 2011. Then it was a limited distribution, not even close to the previous levels of about 115,000 students. These rations benefited the children and their families. It’s food for the body and the mind as it keeps children in school and learning reading, math, science, and writing.

As significant as Germany’s recent donation is, it will be able to help revive Food for Education only to almost half of what it once reached in terms of students.

Lubna Alaman, director of WFP Yemen, says “The Food for Girls’ Education [program] is targeting only 53,000 girls and their families, and the food will be distributed for three school terms in 2012.”

So there is a long way to go to get all these hunger relief plans fully active again.

The choice with Yemen is simple. Invest now and avert an epic disaster like Somalia faced. We can save a generation of children in Yemen from the malnutrition that damages or even kills them in the first years of life.

Or drift along, pretending that Yemen will somehow turn out OK with an average response to humanitarian needs. It won’t, because no nation can have peace, political stability, and development on empty stomachs and malnourished bodies and minds.

Article first published as How a Silent Guest Can Help Save Hungry Yemen on Blogcritics.

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January 19, 2012 · 3:41 am

Sahel Food Crisis: Race Against Time to Save Lives

A mother attends to her severely malnourished child at an inpatient feeding centre in Mao, Chad. Credit: UNICEF Chad/2011/ Esteve

In the Sahel region of Africa millions of people are caught in a severe hunger crisis. Niger, Mauritania, Chad, Burkina Faso and Mali are primarily the countries affected right now.

Drought has reduced food production, and high prices reign over the existing food supply. For families living in poverty, food is out of reach. UNICEF says more than a million children under five years of age will need to be treated for severe malnutrition in the region.

If the international community does not act now, the situation will get much worse. Action has to be taken well before the lean season between harvests, which could start as early as February or March. The UN World Food Programme (WFP) says, “food security problems in the lean season lead to significant peaks in acute malnutrition and mortality, taking it beyond critical levels.”

It can take months for a donation to translate into food on the ground. So donors need to come forward quickly to help avert a disaster in the Sahel.

Navyn Salem of Edesia, whose organization produces plumpy’nut food aid, points out that if donors wait until the ultimate disaster strikes, it leads to very expensive airlifts of emergency food aid. That is money that could have been used to purchase more food and shipped at lower cost months earlier.

Right now WFP is facing a tough time funding its relief operations as hunger is on the rise in many parts of the globe. In Niger, WFP had to increase its funding requirements to feed over 3 million people, one million higher than previous estimates. So far, less than half of the required funding has been received to provide the food aid.

Denise Brown, WFP country director, warns “Unusually high food prices are affecting needy people who are facing growing difficulties as they struggle to feed themselves and their children. I am deeply worried about the food situation deteriorating in the coming months and we cannot sit back and wait for the worst to come.”

The US Food for Peace program, started by Dwight Eisenhower, has been able to send some funds for Niger relief. However, the US Congress has been threatening to reduce future funding for Food for Peace despite the massive global hunger crisis now unfolding.

In Chad, cereal production in 2011 decreased 50 percent compared to 2010, according to the Food and Agriculture organization. Who becomes the most vulnerable when such a food crisis hits? It’s the smallest children under five years of age.

A WFP report says, levels of acute malnutrition were at a “critical” level in 6 out of 11 regions surveyed in Chad. Other areas were categorized as having “Serious” levels of malnutrition. The smallest infants in this danger zone run the risk of lifetime physical and mental damage unless food aid can reach them in time.

UNICEF says, “What is going to be required to save lives is the sweet, peanut-based therapeutic food known as ‘Plumpy Nut’, enough nutrition professionals in the field to work the feeding centres, and a string of other interventions that bring more food into communities.”

The Sahel region is in need though of more than emergency food aid. There has to be a way to build up the resilience of the region to future droughts, and gradually reduce the need for outside assistance. When the current crisis stabilizes, investments in the small farmer will need to move forward. Only this food security investment can prevent another hunger crisis of this magnitude.

Article first published as Sahel Food Crisis: Race Against Time to Save Lives on Blogcritics.

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January 3, 2012 · 3:53 am

Interview: Rajia Sharhan of UNICEF Yemen

UNICEF Nutrition Officer Dr. Rajia Sharhan holds a young child at a therapeutic feeding centre in Sana'a, the Yemeni capital. (UNICEF Yemen/2011/Halldorsson)

In my interview with Geert Cappelaere of UNICEF, we see the widescale crisis of child health and malnutrition in Yemen. Dr. Rajia Sharhan witnesses this crisis unfold daily as a nutrition specialist for UNICEF Yemen.

Dr. Sharhan works at a health clinic and also trains other medical care workers throughout the country. She recently took time to answer some questions about her work at the clinic. Her insight gives us at least some idea of the challenges facing Yemeni families, and also some solutions.

How far do people travel to the clinic?

It depends on the district distance from their village to the health center. Sometimes they need two hours by car to reach it.

Is accessibility a problem for families trying to get medical care?

Yes it is, especially in the last few months when fuel increased in price so families’ priority was food not health.

What if a medical condition is not able to be treated at your clinic?

The child has to be referred to the therapeutic feeding center and gets medical attention in the same hospital.

Do you see a lot of children who are underweight for their age?

Yes, a lot, around 50%.

What is the most common ailment you see in children at the clinic? Is it something that is preventable?

Many suffer from diarrhoea. It’s preventable by ensuring that the water given to the child is clean and hygiene is promoted.

How much does literacy play a role in how parents care for their children?

It plays a role, as many illiterate mothers don’t know the proper feeding practices and importance of breast feeding and proper complementary feeding. Maybe we use the media (radio) because all mothers everywhere listen to it while cooking, and this may help in increasing the awareness.

Can you describe the use in Yemen of plumpy’nut (the special peanut paste that rescues children from malnutrition).

The volunteers at the village level in Abbs go to identify children with malnutrition. During the regular biweekly work of a volunteer in a village, using Mid Upper Arm Circumference (MUAC), when a child is identified with a MUAC of 11 cm, the volunteer gives a referral card and advises the mother or the caretaker to immediately refer that child the nearest Outpatient Therapeutic Care (OTP) program, which in Abbs is the district rural health center.

The mother has to go there by car so they rent one. The mother and child arrive at the waiting area of the health clinic and give the referral card. Then the child is weighed and the height is measured and if the Z score is -3 standard deviations according to the table chart for malnutrition, the child is admitted to the OTP after an appetite test for plumpy’nut is done to make sure there are no complications (fever, loss of appetite, or any disease causing deterioration of the consciousness of the child).

If the child passes the appetite test then a further clinical checkup is done and the child is given a one-week ration of plumpy’nut which is around 21-28 sachets per week (3 to 4 sachets per day), according to the child’s weight and height. The child then returns to the village but has to go the health center every week to get weighed and to be given the ration of plumpy’nut. Because of the constraints of transportation sometimes the child is given a two-week ration. The volunteers continue their screening and follow up with the children enrolled in the program.

The child is cured after eight weeks.

You can donate to help Yemen at UNICEF USA.

Article first published as Interview: Rajia Sharhan of UNICEF Yemen on Blogcritics.

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December 31, 2011 · 4:06 am

UNICEF starts relief fund for children in Yemen

UNICEF USA has started a relief fund to help the suffering children of Yemen. You can donate to the fund here.

Children are suffering the effects of malnutrition and displacement after a year of political instability, as well as fighting between the government and militant groups. Some families are even living in caves after fleeing violence.

“Don’t be afraid, we are not going to harm you, we are here to take care of you,” says Hana to the little girl who clutches her doll, afraid of the strangers who have come to her house. Do they want to take her away from her mom? But Hana and her colleague are enumerators and are here to see if little Fatima is malnourished, if she needs treatment. Sadly a quick measurement of her arm with a special tape shows she is much thinner than she should be at her age. “Fatima has severe malnutrition,” says Hana. “We have to refer her immediately to the outpatient therapeutic center so she can get appropriate care.” Rasha Al-Ardi/UNICEF Hodeidah/2011

The latest UNICEF report showed that “58,338 severely acute malnourished children were treated… in the past 11 months.”

However, countrywide it is estimated that 4 million children suffer from severe malnutrition. Many more resources such as plumpy’nut are needed for UNICEF to treat these children.

Read more about UNICEF’s response to the crisis in Yemen in my interview with director Geert Cappelaere.

first published at Global Hunger Examiner.

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December 30, 2011 · 4:53 am

Interview: Geert Cappelaere of UNICEF on the Humanitarian Crisis in Yemen

“Don’t be afraid, we are not going to harm you, we are here to take care of you,” says Hana to the little girl who clutches her doll, afraid of the strangers who have come to her house. Do they want to take her away from her mom? But Hana and her colleague are enumerators and are here to see if little Fatima is malnourished, if she needs treatment. Sadly a quick measurement of her arm with a special tape shows she is much thinner than she should be at her age. “Fatima has severe malnutrition,” says Hana. “We have to refer her immediately to the outpatient therapeutic center so she can get appropriate care.” Rasha Al-Ardi/UNICEF Hodeidah/2011

Most of the spotlight on Yemen is focusing on whether embattled President Ali Abdullah Saleh should be given medical treatment in the United States. Tragically lost in this debate are millions of Yemenis who are suffering from hunger, malnutrition, and disease.

The UN World Food Programme (WFP) estimates that over 7 million Yemenis (1/3 of the population) suffer from hunger. This figure is believed to be even higher considering the past year of unrest and violence in the country. Malnutrition rates among children are high, causing stunted physical and mental growth or even leading to death.

This year of political turmoil and protests against long-time president Saleh has led to shortages of basic goods and increased food prices. Aid agencies, who are low on funding, are struggling to keep up with the increasing calls for help.

Yemen is on the verge of a humanitarian disaster and little is being done to heed the warnings. The level of human suffering has the potential to plunge the country into complete chaos which would easily destroy hopes for peace and strengthen the Al-Qaida branch there.

As President Obama’s counterterrorism advisor John Brennan says, “As we have seen from Afghanistan in the 1990s to Yemen, Somalia and the tribal areas of Pakistan today, al-Qa’ida and its affiliates often thrive where there is disorder.”

UNICEF is trying desperately to provide aid to the most vulnerable segment of Yemen’s population: Children. In the following interview Geert Cappelaere, director of UNICEF in Yemen, discusses the fast-developing humanitarian crisis and how we can take action.

The recent United Nations report revealed a 31.7% Global Acute Malnutrition in Yemen’s Hodeidah Governorate. Isn’t that a malnutrition rate similar to the worst areas of starvation inside Somalia? Could Yemen be the next Somalia?

Yemen, unfortunately, has the highest rate of chronic malnutrition in the world with close to 60% of children reported as stunted. In some parts of Yemen, global acute malnutrition rates are indeed equal than in parts of drought and famine struck Horn of Africa, with 30% of those under 5 years of age being wasted (globally acute malnourished). Severely acute malnutrition levels are approaching 10% in certain pockets of the country. So the levels of chronic and acute malnutrition amongst Yemeni children are unprecedented in most part of the world.

Certainly, Yemen could be the next Somalia and very soon, if the world keeps watching with no action. UNICEF has been ringing the bell very loudly that we do not want the situation of children to turn into a humanitarian disaster.

Do UNICEF and other aid agencies have a full picture what is happening with hunger and malnutrition especially in rural, more isolated areas? Could the Hodeidah malnutrition findings tragically be the tip of the iceberg in Yemen?

UNICEF and humanitarian workers on the ground have made it clear that Yemen, which is already chronically underdeveloped, is on the verge of a humanitarian disaster. The situation is much worse than what people could imagine. Also our collective response has not been up to the challenge. Limited funding has led to a reduction in assistance, negatively impacting the nutrition and food security status of families already facing protracted displacement.

The recent findings of the UNICEF survey coming from Hodeidah are consistent with those findings coming from Hajja, for instance, and other parts of the country. Nearly one third of children surveyed suffer from either moderate or severe acute malnutrition – of which nearly 10 percent were severe cases. Wherever we go, wherever we survey, wherever we assess, we come to the same conclusions: levels of acute malnutrition in Yemen are incredibly high.

Yemen has suffered through war in the North between the government and rebels and recent fighting in the South with militants. This on top of tremendous political instability and violence this year. What kind of psychological toll is this taking on children growing up amid such displacement and violence?

Yemen is a country where children represent more than half of the population, which means more than 12 million. They bear the brunt of underdevelopment and a looming disaster. UNICEF is very concerned about the impact on children of years of underdevelopment, multiple wars and more recently a deep political crisis.

Even after intensive efforts by UNICEF, government and partners to bring children back to schools, nearly a quarter of a million children across Yemen face difficulties attending school. More than 180 schools in different parts of the country have been occupied or attacked by armed forces and armed groups, or are occupied by displaced communities.

The situation has significantly impacted the psychosocial well-being of children. In the conflict-affected northern governorates, one in three children reported feeling unsafe, sad or frustrated, suffered from diminished hope, fear, anger and hatred as well as experiencing difficulty sleeping. One in four experienced difficulties concentrating, and establishing trustful relationships. A household bi-weekly survey shows a sharply increased level of fear in places like Hodeidah when violence erupted in Sanaa – asserting that conflict affects all children throughout the country in some way or another.

How is UNICEF planning to aid children in Yemen during 2012? Do you have the needed resources?

Our humanitarian action plan for 2012 focuses on mainly relief operation giving a top priority to the fight against malnutrition. We have extended investments in WASH (water, sanitation and hygiene for schools), Education, Health and Child Protection. While keeping the focus on immediate relief operations, we shall not miss a single opportunity for re-engaging on mid- and longer term development.

UNICEF doubled its funding requirement in 2012 from that of last year to USD 49.6 million. We need all possible assistance to have it funded in a timely manner.

Tell us about the significance of plumpy’nut for Yemeni children.

It is one of the Ready-to-Use-Therapeutic Food (RUTF) life-saving food products that are designed to address the therapeutic needs of severely malnourished children. The fact that it does not need any preparation when giving it to children has tremendously been instrumental to reach out to remote areas where there are no health facilities and high rate of illiteracy among parents. Any adult can feed a malnourished child with ease, however, health workers need to follow on the progress and recovery to prevent any relapse.

How can people reach out and help UNICEF aid children Yemen? Can someone get involved?

Any possible help is welcome. I am glad to announce that individuals and organizations can make donation to Yemeni children online through this link.

We need also that the voice of Yemeni children is heard and that media is taking the lead to inform donors about the dire humanitarian needs in this country.

Is there a certain story or family in Yemen that stands out in your mind when you think of the plight of the country?

Well. They are numerous, and stories are generally similar. I would rather focus on the entire cohort of under-five children- who are about 4 million – who all need equal attention and care.

You can donate to help Yemen at UNICEF USA.

Article first published as Interview: Geert Cappelaere of UNICEF on the Humanitarian Crisis in Yemen on Blogcritics.

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November 7, 2011 · 12:39 am

Budget Debates in Congress Loom Over Yemen Crisis

Budget decisions made by the U.S. Congress in the coming weeks will have their effect on Yemen. Proposals for reducing international food aid would limit the U.S. ability to respond to the humanitarian crisis escalating in Yemen, already the poorest country in the Middle East.

Congress has proposed reducing funding for the U.S. Food for Peace plan, which in 2011 supported the UN World Food Programme’s (WFP) relief operation in Sana’a City and Northern Yemen. In addition, Food for Peace funded Save the Children’s voucher initiative, also in the North. This program showed promising results and if enough funding were available could be continued and expanded.

Currently, the UN World Food Programme and UNICEF are facing funding shortages for their relief programs in Yemen. The prospect of the U.S. decreasing its food aid budget is a forerunner of disaster for an already distressed humanitarian operation.

Before this year’s political unrest and violence unfolded, Yemen was already suffering a humanitarian crisis with high rates of child malnutrition. The year’s events have made this situation worse with prices of food and other basic goods on the increase. Food is becoming out of reach.

UNICEF recently reported “food security & nutrition indicators continue to be alarmingly low. Protein intake continues to decline, with increasing numbers of households reporting no consumption of meat (74.2%), fish (65.0%), chicken (34.2%), and eggs (43.3%).”

UNICEF, which surveys households in the Sana’a, Amran, and Hodeida governorates, highlights the alarming child malnutrition crisis. UNICEF says, “More households reported decreased number of meals among children <5yrs (33.6%) compared with the previous round (22.6%), with children in rural households being the most vulnerable to meal reduction (40.4%) compared with urban households (28.6%).”

The World Food Program USA is rallying support for increasing U.S. international food aid so there can be a stronger response for the crisis in Yemen and other countries.

WFP USA states, “Despite the fact that cuts to these critically important international programs cannot possibly make a meaningful contribution to reducing the debt or balancing the budget, unfortunately they are under threat this week as the Senate debates International Affairs accounts.”

A take action page has been set up to help citizens contact their representatives in Congress to oppose the budget cuts to international food aid.

Article first published as Budget Debates in Congress Loom over Yemen Crisis at Blogcritics.

 

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October 31, 2011 · 4:18 am

On Halloween Remember the World’s Hungry

This Halloween please remember the world's hungry (photo courtesy USA.gov)

It’s Halloween 2011 and time for the Wolfman, Dracula, and other monsters and ghosts to have their one night of the year. And let’s not forget Egypt’s famous Halloween contribution, the Mummy, and a couple of creatures that have appeared in this column when they helped with fundraisers, the Mothman and the Yeti.

Halloween means lots of candy too! In fact billions of dollars are spent on Halloween festivities. But this year please take a silent guest with you when trick or treating, or at your Halloween party. You can help one of the world’s nearly one billion hungry who on Halloween, or any other day, will hope to get maybe one meal if they are lucky.

There are many ways that Halloween can be combined with fighting hunger. In fact, in 1947 students used Halloween not to collect treats but to collect canned goods for the Friendship Train that fed the hungry in war-torn Europe.

On Halloween night, maybe in place of one of the treats, you could ask for a dollar to buy a week’s worth of meals for a hungry child. You can send the dollar to food aid agencies like the World Food Programme, Save the Children, Feeding America, UNICEF, Catholic Relief Services and others.

Or perhaps take a few minutes after coming home from trick or treating to play a few rounds of the online game Free Rice. For every correct answer you get, rice is donated to the hungry in developing countries.

There are many ways you can combine Halloween and fighting hunger. For this night is one of imagination. So the best ideas are to come: from you.

Article first published as On Halloween Remember the World’s Hungry on Blogcritics.

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