Tag Archives: World Food Programme

May 17, 2013 · 1:12 pm

Why FreeRice is so important for Niger

FreeRice has two goals: Provide education to everyone for free. Help end world hunger by providing rice to hungry people for free.

FreeRice has two goals: Provide education to everyone for free. Help end world hunger by providing rice to hungry people for free.

When you go online to play the award-winning game FreeRice you are currently helping feed school children in Niger. This is a country in the Sahel region of Africa where the UN  World Food Programme says, “2.5 million people are in a permanent state of food insecurity, unable to meet basic food requirements even under normal conditions.”

Millions of others also suffer from hunger during different periods of the year, between harvests for example. With such extreme hunger and poverty parents may withdraw their  children from school, unless there is the incentive of food.

Here is an excerpt of a report from the World Food Programme:

The school feeding programme successfully encourages enrollment and attendance of children,  and reduces drop-out rates, in primary schools in structurally  vulnerable areas of Niger through the provision of cooked meals. In  order to address the gender gap in enrollment and reduce drop-out rates,  WFP provides a dry, take-home family ration to girls enrolled and attending the final  years of primary school. At the request of the Government, WFP and UNICEF are working to expand in nomadic areas.”

By playing FreeRice you are helping children get food and education. With the SAT tests coming up in June, millions of high school students in the U.S. could actually prepare for this test and help Niger by using the FreeRice SAT prep section.

Start playing at FreeRice.com.

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April 7, 2013 · 2:44 am

Aid Groups Need Access to Starving People in Sudan’s South Kordofan State

Thousands have been displaced by the conflicts in South Kordofan and Blue Nile states in Sudan. These areas are facing a hunger crisis and aid groups need access. Credit: UNHCR

Thousands have been displaced by the conflicts in South Kordofan and Blue Nile states in Sudan. These areas are facing a hunger crisis and aid groups need access. Credit: UNHCR

This week the UN World Food Programme (WFP) announced it had started distributing aid in Sudan‘s conflict-affected Blue Nile state. Previously WFP had not been granted access to this area where rebels (SPLM-N) are fighting Sudan’s government.

Now food aid must be allowed into South Kordofan state which, like Blue Nile, has been devastated by this same conflict. There are reports of tremendous suffering in South Kordofan. Yet aid is not allowed to go through.

View slideshow: Hunger and displacement from conflicts in South Kordofan and Blue NileIn a joint statement in March, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, Norwegian Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide, and UK Foreign Secretary William Hague said: “We remain deeply concerned by the security and humanitarian situation in Southern Kordofan and Blue Nile states in Sudan. It is imperative that both Sudan and the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement North (SPLM-N) seize the opportunity of direct talks to address the urgent need for a cessation of hostilities, humanitarian access to all areas, and the longer-term political solution. We welcome SPLM-N’s acceptance of the invitation to direct talks and urge the Government of Sudan to do the same, without pre-conditions.”

Currently, the World Food Programme and aid groups are able to operate only in the government-held areas of South Kordofan. Save the Children Sweden has done nutrition screenings for children under five years old in parts of South Kordofan under government control. So far 89,482 have been screened with around 15,000 of the children either moderately or severely malnourished. Plumpy’Nut, a special peanut paste, is being used to treat the children. Without the treatment children will suffer lasting physical and mental damage from malnutrition.

With reports of people living off roots and leaves in the conflict zones of South Kordofan, malnutrition rates would be expected to go much higher. The World Food Programme and other aid groups need access to all of South Kordofan.

Meanwhile, funding is urgently needed for the relief effort in Blue Nile. WFP Sudan Country Director Adnan Khan, speaking of Blue Nile, says, “While we continue to strive for access to all areas, this is still a major breakthrough which will enable us to assist those who continue to be displaced by the conflict or those who have decided to return to their homes and are in dire need of food assistance. For this immediate response, we will need an additional US $20.5 million which will be used to buy 17,000 metric tons of food.”

Article first published as Aid Groups Need Access to Starving People in Sudan’s South Kordofan State on Blogcritics.

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· 2:29 am

WFP and Yemen Sign Food Aid Agreement, but Funding Remains Low

The UN World Food Programme (WFP) announced today it had signed two agreements with Yemen‘s government on feeding five million people in the impoverished country. Implementation of the agreement will depend on funding received from the international community.

Lubna Alaman, WFP Country Director says, “This is a critical time for Yemen and we hope that WFP assistance will contribute to the general stabilization of Yemen at an important moment in the transition process. We hope that we receive funding to be able to continue our programmes to reduce acute malnutrition among young mothers and children as well as raise the food consumption levels of families struggling to feed their families and others affected by conflict.”

The food aid will be distributed to families all across Yemen struggling with hunger and high food prices. Internally displaced persons and refugees from Somalia will also benefit. Small children will be provided special nutritional foods to prevent the lasting physical and mental damage caused by malnutrition.

WFP relies on voluntary funding to carry out these programs. Currently only US $127 million of US $242 million has been received. Donors so far include Japan, the United States, Canada, the European Commission, Germany and Finland.

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April 6, 2013 · 2:08 am

Life-Saving Food Needed in Blue Nile, Sudan by May

The fighting in Blue Nile Sudan has caused a hunger and refugee crisis with thousands fleeing to South Sudan and Ethiopia. Many others who remain behind in Blue Nile are suffering from food shortages Credit: UNHCR

The fighting in Blue Nile Sudan has caused a hunger and refugee crisis with thousands fleeing to South Sudan and Ethiopia. Many others who remain behind in Blue Nile are suffering from food shortages Credit: UNHCR

The UN World Food Programme (WFP) announced yesterday that life-saving food aid is starting to be delivered to the conflict-affected areas of Blue Nile state in Sudan. The government of Sudan had previously blocked WFP from delivering food in Blue Nile.

Blue Nile and South Kordofan have been the scene of conflict since 2011 as Sudan’s government has waged war against rebels who fought with South Sudan during years of Civil War. Thousands have been displaced and fled to South Sudan or Ethiopia. Those who remained have suffered from hunger. There had been reports of people trying to live off roots and leaves from the forest.

To start, WFP is feeding more than 51,000 conflict affected people in Blue Nile. WFP Programme Officer Arduino Mangoni says, “We are giving a two-month ration for this first round of distribution, following an assessment which we carried out early last month in two of the areas most severely affected by the conflict — Geissan and Kurmuk.” The plan is to expand this aid to four other areas of Blue Nile.

Even before the conflict began WFP was providing aid in these areas to 183,000 people. It is now a race against time to provide food in six areas of Blue Nile before the rainy season of May. When the rains come, roads can become impassable making food deliveries difficult or even impossible by truck.

WFP, which relies on voluntary funding, needs US $20.5 million dollars to provide the desperately needed food.

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April 5, 2013 · 4:47 pm

School Feeding Starts for Syrian Refugee Children

The UN World Food Programme (WFP) said today that school feeding has started for over 10,500 Syrian children in refugee camps in Jordan and Iraq. The goal is to boost nutrition and school attendance at the same time.

WFP is already reporting a 20 percent school attendance increase in the Jordan camps since the feeding began.

Muhannad Hadi, WFP’s Emergency Coordinator for the Syria crisis, says “Many Syrian children have already gone through an incredible ordeal — losing family members, crossing borders and living as refugees in neighbouring countries — and they need to be back in school. We use school feeding across the world to provide vital nutrition to children and encourage them to stay in school. We don’t want to see a lost generation of Syrian children who fail to reach their potential.”

At the Zaatari refugee camp in Jordan 6,000 children are receiving a mid-day snack in two UNICEF operated schools. Save the Children is assisting with distribution of the food. WFP plans to boost the Jordan program to reach 30,000 children. At the Domiz camp in Northern Iraq 4,500 children are receiving the nutritious snacks, which are fortified with 11 vitamins, 3 minerals and 450 calories. Plans are underway to increase the program in Iraq to 6,000 children.

WFP relies on voluntary funding and needs US $ 780,000 to continue the school feeding for the rest of the year. For the entire Syria relief mission WFP is short on US $ 113 million in funding to provide aid through June.

WFP has a relief fund where you can donate to help Syrian war victims.

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April 2, 2013 · 9:13 pm

Millions of Syrians Desperate for Food Aid

Though many families have fled Homs, a few choose to return to their homes in the neighbourhood of Baba Amr despite the challenges. Of those who have fled from Homs to Aleppo,many were later forced to move along when the fighting intensified there as well (photo courtesy WFP/Abeer Etefa)

Though many families have fled Homs, a few choose to return to their homes in the neighbourhood of Baba Amr despite the challenges. Of those who have fled from Homs to Aleppo,many were later forced to move along when the fighting intensified there as well (photo courtesy WFP/Abeer Etefa)

Life-saving food aid is not reaching hungry Syrians because of the escalating conflict between Assad’s government and rebels. The UN World Food Programme (WFP) said today that “the situation is critical in conflict zones and some opposition-held areas where WFP has limited access and where millions of people are believed to be in acute need of food.”

WFP is urging the warring parties to allow food aid to pass safely into conflict zones. The hardest-to-reach areas include parts of rural Damascus, Quneitra, Dara’a, Deir Ezzor, Al-Raqqa, and the north of the country, particularly Aleppo and Idlib.

Muhannad Hadi, WFP’s Regional Emergency Coordinator for the Syria crisis, says, “It has become a struggle now to move food from one area to the other with our warehouses and trucks getting increasingly caught in the crossfire. We are sometimes left with the difficult decision of calling off the dispatch of food to a place where we know there is dire need for it.”

WFP lost some food when a mortar struck one of its warehouses. The UN food agency is trying to feed 2.5 million Syrians this month inside the battered country.

Funding problems as well as violence plague the relief mission. WFP relies on voluntary funding from governments and the public. Funds are needed to feed not only the at least 2.5 million Syrians inside the country, but also the close to a million refugees who have fled to Jordan and other neighbors.

WFP has already started to bring Plumpy’Doz, a food that fights child malnutrition, into Syria. As the conflict continues, more and more Syrian children will be at risk of lasting physical and mental damage, or even death, from the malnutrition in the country.

WFP has set up a relief fund for Syria.

Article first published as Millions of Syrians Desperate for Food Aid on Blogcritics.

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March 31, 2013 · 10:21 pm

How Athletes Can Feed Syrian Refugees

There is a humanitarian emergency ongoing in the Middle East with refugees fleeing war-torn Syria. While it might seem a world away and hard to help, there is actually something you can do.

Earlier I reported how the free app Charity Miles is raising funds for the UN World Food Programme (WFP), the largest hunger fighting agency. WFP works in around 70 countries and is providing food aid for Syrian war victims.

The Charity Miles app tracks your walking, running and biking distances. For every mile a donation is made to WFP, or any charity of your choice. The Charity Miles for WFP are going toward their school meals programs. WFP has just started school feeding for Syrian refugee children in Jordan.

By walking, running and raising Charity Miles for WFP you can help increase the funding amounts for school meals. It’s an easy way to get involved in the relief effort no matter where you are in the world.

You can get started at Charitymiles.org

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March 25, 2013 · 9:03 pm

Plumpy’Doz Needed in Syria to Stop Deadly Child Malnutrition

The UN World Food Programme (WFP) said today that Plumpy’Doz, a food to prevent deadly malnutrition, is being used in war-torn Syria. Plumpy’Doz, a nutrient-rich peanut paste, is being deployed at health centers in Damascus. It will be distributed more widely in the coming days with the help of UNICEF.

Laure Chadraoui of WFP says the agency will soon have enough Plumpy’Doz to treat close to 100,000 children.

There are an estimated four million people displaced within Syria. They have lost everything. Their livelihoods are gone. Food production in the country has been stopped in many areas because of damage to factories. It is not safe for farmers to go to their fields. What food can be produced is very high-priced.

This hunger crisis is taking its toll on children. When food becomes scarce small children are most at risk for malnutrition, which can have deadly consequences at that age.

Without the right food, infants can suffer physical or mental damage which cannot be reversed. Plumpy’Doz, a food which requires no preparation or refrigration, is used to prevent this from happening.

Save the Children released a report that shows the horror of hunger unfolding from this conflict. The report states, “few displaced families have any food stocks at all. They are having to cut down on the number of meals they and their children eat each day.”

If this war continues more children will be at risk of starvation. Aid agencies, such as WFP and Save the Children, need steady funding to keep the humanitarian pipeline of food well stocked. They are feeding not only war victims inside Syria but around a million people who have fled to neighboring countries.

The World Food Programme has set up a Syria relief fund.

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March 22, 2013 · 10:00 pm

Obama visits Jordan, where Syrian refugees need food aid

President Obama continued his MIddle East tour today by visiting Jordan, home to refugees from the war in Syria (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)

President Obama, as part of his Middle East tour, visited Jordan today to meet with King Abdullah II. Jordan is home to 460,000 refugees from the war in Syria.

The UN World Food Programme (WFP) says it’s “strained by limited resources” trying to feed a refugee population that grows by the day.

During March WFP plans to feed 142,000 refugees at the Al Za’atri camp. As the numbers of refugees increase, food distributions are becoming more crowded and difficult. New camp sites are being explored.

For 117,515 refugees across all governorates of Jordan WFP uses a voucher program to provide food assistance. WFP says, “the vouchers entitle Syrians to purchase items valued at US$33 in selected shops, where fresh fruit, vegetables, meat and other key staples are available.”

WFP faces a funding shortage of US $156 million dollars for its refugee relief operation and its mission inside Syria. Resources are also stretched thin because of other ongoing hunger emergencies in war-torn Mali, South Sudan, Afghanistan, Yemen and other nations.

The UN food agency is voluntarily funded. President Obama said today the US will provide $ 200 million in additional humanitarian aid. As the conflict continues the humanitarian needs will grow. The US budget for international food aid though is at risk of cuts through the Sequester.

WFP has set up a relief fund for the Syria crisis.

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· 2:22 am

USAID Official tells Congress of Syrian Hunger Emergency

This week Nancy Lindborg of USAID testified before the Senate about the humanitarian crisis in Syria.Credits: file photo courtesy of Mercy Corps

This week Nancy Lindborg of USAID testified before the Senate about the humanitarian crisis in Syria. Credits: file photo courtesy of Mercy Corps

Nancy Lindborg of the US Agency for International Development (USAID) spoke to the House Committee on Foreign Affairs yesterday about the growing humanitarian crisis facing war-torn Syria.

Her testimony followed an alarming report by Save the Children which states that potentially as many as “3.2 million people need food assistance in 58 sub-districts alone, suggesting that the situation may be much worse than previously thought.”

Lindborg, the Assistant Administrator for Humanitarian Assistance said, “World Food Program (WFP) activities supported by the United States currently provide monthly rations to nearly 1.5 million within Syria and approximately 300,000 refugees in Jordan, Lebanon, Turkey, Iraq and Egypt.”

She also described how US assistance is helping people in Aleppo governorate receive bread. Shortages of this basic staple have become widespread across Syria.

As Lindborg noted in her testimony, WFP is scaling up its activities to reach 2.5 million Syrians by the end of April. WFP, which relies on voluntary contributions from the US and other countries, is very short on funding.

Budget decisions made by the Congress in coming weeks will have an effect on Syria and other nations facing humanitarian disasters. Bread for the World reported this week that the sequester cuts will impact international food aid. Even before these proposed cuts international food aid makes up less than one tenth of one percent of the entire federal budget.

The Save the Children report warns, “as the fighting continues and families are finding that accessing nutritious food becomes ever more difficult, expensive, and even dangerous, there are the first signs of an increase in the number of children suffering malnutrition.”

The World Food Program has set up a relief fund for Syria.

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