Save the Children’s new report shows the horrific devastation to Syria’s health care system after years of civil war. The impact is hardest on children.
Read the full article at Yahoo! Voices
Category Archives: Save the Children
Take Action To Save Hunger Fighting Programs from Budget Cuts
Yesterday, I spoke to a great class at the College of Mount St. Joseph about the fight against hunger, both at home and abroad. We talked about proposed budget cuts in the Congress to food aid programs.
Here are food aid programs at risk of budget cuts:
Domestic Food Aid:
TEFAP: The Emergency Food Assistance Program which supports food bank across the country. If funding is reduced there will be less support at a time of high unemployment when more families need the support of food banks.
WIC- Supplemental Nutrition for Women, Infants and Children.
Vicki Escarra of Feeding America says, “As Congress and the Administration look for ways to reduce the federal deficit, it is more critical than ever to protect funding for nutrition programs that provide the first line of defense against hunger in America.”
International Food Aid:
Food for Peace: This is the primary tool the U.S. has in fighting global hunger. This program was started during the Eisenhower administration and has saved countless lives and promoted stability worldwide.
McGovern-Dole program: This is geared toward international school meals. Agencies like Catholic Relief Services, World Food Program and others apply for McGovern-Dole funding to run school lunch programs in developing countries.
Here is an excerpt from an interview I did with Nora O’Connell of Save the Children discussing international food aid:
“For every one dollar that the U.S. government spends, roughly one-tenth of one penny goes towards food aid.
Completely eliminating food aid would do virtually nothing to impact either our debt or deficit. And it would not relieve Congress of the need to make the difficult choices required to alleviate the debt crisis. As Congress decides exactly where to make cuts, we urge them to do what’s right for children. Disproportionate and unjustified cuts not only hurt children today, they put our future at risk and move America further away from its values.
The best way to help prevent these cuts is to get in touch with Congress and let them know that programs that fight hunger and poverty are important. Individuals can call, write, email, or tweet their members of Congress and ask that they protect funding for international hunger- and poverty-fighting programs. Communication from constituents is critical to building support for programs that protect children and families across the globe, and help build a more stable and healthy world.”
You can reach your elected officials by visiting www.house.gov and www.senate.gov. You can let them know what you expect them to be doing about food aid both at home and abroad.
Catholic Relief Services says “Your action is particularly important now because the funding levels for FY 2012 will become the template for decisions about how much the U.S. invests in life-saving poverty-focused assistance for the next decade. Your voice is critical now to support poverty-focused international assistance so that life-changing and life-saving interventions can continue to reach those who need it most.”
Food for Peace, CRS Working to Feed the Hungry in East Africa
President Reagan called the U.S. Food for Peace program an “instrument of American compassion.” This government program has a tradition of feeding the world’s hungry. It saves lives. It represents the very best of America.
And we see it in action again with the recent Food for Peace donation of $64 million to the charity Catholic Relief Services (CRS). The food will be used as part of a relief mission to drought-stricken Ethiopia.
Ronald Reagan said “people who are hungry are weak allies for freedom.” Today, Food for Peace is threatened with severe budget cuts by Congress. (photo courtesy of the Ronald Reagan Library)
Ethiopia is suffering food shortages from failed crops. For the food that is available, prices are high for many Ethiopian families.
Catholic Relief Services is feeding about a million people there as part of the Joint Emergency Operations Plan. The Food for Peace donation goes to this joint mission.
The charities CARE, Save the Children US, Save the Children UK, World Vision, Food for the Hungry Ethiopia, and the Relief Society of Tigray will assist in the distribution of the food.
Around a million people are being given a lifeline, thanks to Food for Peace, CRS and the other charities working together. In addition, CRS and other aid agencies continue their work to build up the resilience of farmers to drought. This effort has helped make Ethiopia less vulnerable to the drought, compared to parts of Somalia where aid agencies have had far less access in recent years.
Women collect water in a region of Ethiopia where CRS has been working on drought mitigation projects since 2003. Photo by KL Dammann/CRS
Food for Peace, which started during the Eisenhower administration, has come under pressure recently from Congress. Members of the House of Representatives have proposed cutting most, if not all, of the funding for Food for Peace. Yet hunger-fighting programs are a very tiny part of the overall budget and cutting them makes no dent in the federal deficit.
CRS is working with its partners throughout East Africa to bring relief from the massive drought that struck the region. This includes aid to Somali refugees in Kenya, as well as support to host communities there which are also suffering from the widespread drought. In Somalia, within the areas of Mogadishu and Baidoa, CRS is helping 28,000 displaced persons with health and nutrition services.
In addition CRS is providing food, water, and livelihood support to 35,000 drought-affected Somalis in the south-central part of the country. Their work involves not only emergency aid, but also projects for building up resistance to future droughts.
David Orth-Moore of CRS says, “While working to alleviate the immediate human suffering, CRS recognizes the importance of long-term drought mitigation programs, and we’ve seen that some communities are faring better now during this current drought because of those projects.”
You can help Catholic Relief Services by donating to their East Africa Emergency Fund
Article first published as Food for Peace, CRS Working to Feed the Hungry in East Africa on Blogcritics.
Articles on Fighting Hunger in Yemen- by William Lambers
Hunger in Yemen: An Activist Spotlight
Food for Education is the Great Hope for Yemen (Yemen Post)
Fighting Hunger in Yemen (New York Times letter)
Interview: Rajia Sharhan of UNICEF Yemen
Interview: Geert Cappelaere of UNICEF on the Humanitarian Crisis in Yemen
Plotting the 2012 War Against Hunger in Yemen
Budget Debates in Congress Loom over Yemen Crisis
WFP Director Warns of Hunger Threat Stalking Yemen
Over 1 Million in Yemen Denied Emergency Food Rations
Inside Yemen: Hunger from Conflict, High Food Prices
Without Nutrition and Education Yemen Cannot Thrive
Yemen Nears Breaking Point, Humanitarian Crisis Could Worsen
U.S. Increases Drone Attacks in Yemen, Hunger Relief Remains Low on Funding
In Yemen’s Arab Spring, Crucial to Look Beyond Al Qaeda
Yemen: Food for Peace Plan Low on Funding
Yemen’s Future is Being Made Now
Could Yemen be the Next Somalia?
Crisis in Yemen: Children Suffering from Malnutrition
1000 Days of Peril in Yemen: The Children Must Be Fed
Rapidly Deteriorating Humanitarian Crisis in Yemen
U.S.- Yemen Partnership Can Mean Food for Peace
For Yemen it’s Bread, Fuel or Chaos
Hunger in Yemen Expanding at Alarming Rate
Yemen Undergoing Its Worst Humanitarian Crisis Ever
U.S. Strategy in Yemen Should Fight Hunger
Underfunded Hunger Relief Mission Resumes in Yemen, but Thousands Displaced
Plumpynut to the Rescue in Yemen
Yemen: What Can Be Done to Help Now
Yemen: Low Funding Limits Hunger Relief Operation
Yemen: When a “CARE Package” Brings Education and Hope
Osama bin Laden Dead, Al Qaeda Lives on in Food Insecure Yemen
Yemen: Recovering Livelihoods in Conflict-Torn North
Yemen: Children Echo Timeless Call for Peace
U.S. Wants Change in Yemen, But Where Is the food?
Food to Reinforce Peace Process in Yemen
For Yemen There Is No Alternative To Peace
Yemen: Protests, Chaos and Hunger
Protests in Food-Insecure Yemen
Like Egypt, Yemen Suffers from High Food Prices
Yemen Hunger Relief Mission Underfunded by Nearly $70 Million
Clinton in Yemen as Humanitarian Crisis Reaches Tipping Point
What Matters to the People of Yemen
More Powerful Than Al Qaeda: Hunger in Yemen
Malnourished Children in Yemen Need Plumpy’nut
Yemen: hunger relief mission remains woefully underfunded
Petition to President Obama and the Senate on fighting hunger in Yemen
WFP, Yemen launch emergency operation
Fighting Al-Qaeda, Hunger, and Poverty in Yemen
U.S. and Allies Ignoring Child Hunger Crisis in Yemen
Friends of Yemen can restart vital Food for Education program
Obama’s MDG Speech Will Test Yemen Policy
Civilians need aid after Yemen offensive against Al Qaeda
Food for Education critical for Yemen and the Millennium Development Goals
Feed Those Displaced by the War in Yemen
What’s troubling about the Pentagon’s plan for Yemen
Against Hunger, Poverty, Desperation and Chaos in Yemen
Senate needs to back Yemen resolution with food aid
Al Qaeda, War, Hunger, and Poverty
Relief Fund Created for Victims of Conflict and Hunger in Yemen
Food For Education Is The Great Hope For Yemen
Yemen Needs Its Own Roadmap to End Hunger
White House says UN relief plan for Yemen woefully underfunded
Obama’s Feed the Future Should Include Food for Education in Yemen
Stopping the Hunger and Despair in Yemen
World Food Programme provides aid to Somali refugees in Yemen
Remembering Hoover’s child feeding message as we face hunger crisis in Yemen
Unrest in Yemen Over Food Shortages: U.S. and Allies Need to Take Action
World Food Programme provides aid to Somali refugees in Yemen
Obama’s Policy Toward Yemen is Failing on Food
Hunger crisis escalates in Yemen, World Food Programme appeals for help
Hunger crisis escalates in Yemen, U.S. needs to show leadership
Low funding for World Food Programme causes ration cuts for victims of conflict in Yemen
Low Funding for WFP Threatens Vital Child Feeding Programs in Yemen
Interview with Andrew Moore of Save the Children in Yemen
Clinton’s Call for Development in Yemen Cannot Go Forward Without Food for Education
“The best way to really get at some of these underlying problems that exist is through an effective development strategy.” — Hillary Clinton
Humanitarian aid critical for peace process in Yemen
President Obama must lead to stop hunger crisis in Yemen
Sounding the alarm on hunger in Yemen
Conflict, hunger and the suffering of women in Yemen
U.S. Policy Toward Yemen Missing Key Component: Food
Hunger, Conflict, and the Suffering of Women in Yemen
150 Million in Military Aid for Yemen, Still No Funding for School Feeding
Jennifer Mizgata of the UN World Food Programme on the Hunger Crisis in Yemen
Hunger the Worst Enemy of Peace in Yemen
Lack of Funding for School Feeding in Yemen Not a Sound Strategy for Peace
Giving Children a Chance in Post-Conflict Ivory Coast
Ten-month-old Sara has been found to be malnourished, and will receive treatment with plumpy'nut to make her strong and healthy again. Even before the conflict, already one in three children under five years old in Côte d'Ivoire was suffering from chronic malnutrition (Photo: Annie Bodmer-Roy/Save the Children)
The conflict may have ended in the Ivory Coast, but building a lasting peace is now the struggle. This emphasis is on the rehabilitation of children so they do not suffer from hunger, malnutrition and disease. It also means giving them a chance to go to school.
Save the Children’s work in the Ivory Coast involves reducing the danger of malnutrition among infants. They are using a special food called Plumpy’nut, which was just featured on NBC Nightly News.
Save the Children’s Plumpy program has just gotten underway in the West African nation. Sophie Bruneau of Save the Children says there are “182 severe acute malnourished children in Outpatient Therapeutic Care in treatment under Plumpy’nut.” In addition, there are another 255 children receiving Supplementary Plumpy which is used to treat less severe cases of malnutrition.
Bruneau says Plumpy’nut has many benefits, including being “ready to eat, easy transport for the mothers, and easy to store.” Of further importance Plumpy’nut treatment “Allows the children to stay with the family and follow the treatment at home, that is essential in terms of child care practices.” Bruneau adds another key benefit of Plumpy’nut: “Children like it.”
The key now is to make sure Save the Children has enough Plumpy supplies to treat cases of child malnutrition. This is essential because during the reconstruction from the conflict, it will be very easy for children to fall into malnutrition. Families are going to be struggling without access to basic services. Rebuilding from conflict does not happen overnight and for communities already in poverty, there is not much to fall back on.
Plumpy’nut helps to keep things together during these emergency and recovery phases. It’s a short-term solution with long-term benefits as it can save the smallest children from being damaged for life from malnutrition.Bruneau says Plumpy’nut is very much the miracle food as “we can really see the weight gain week after week.”
For school age children the key is getting them fed and back to class. School meals programs, when given enough support, accomplish this. The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) “plans to feed 568,000 school children in 3,320 primary schools” beginning in November.
WFP relies on voluntary donations from the international community. They have enough funds to get Ivory Coast school meals programs started again. WFP has not run the program since October 2010, right before the conflict began after disputed elections.
But will there be enough support to sustain the school feeding? Will there be enough support to help Ivory Coast eventually have its own national school lunch program? As the U.S. and other governments make their foreign policy amid budget crunches, will food aid for Ivory Coast and other countries get left out?
These questions remain to be answered. To help Save the Children, visit their Ivory Coast Emergency fund page. For more about the UN World Food Programme visit their home page and their We Feedback page
Article first published as Giving Children a Chance in Post-Conflict Ivory Coast on Blogcritics.
The UN World Food Programme plans to resume school feeding in the Ivory Coast. (WFP/Ramin Rafirasme)
Plumpy’nut in the Ivory Coast
Edesia, a producer of the life-saving food plumpy’nut, was profiled this week on NBC Nightly News. In my articles I have featured a number of countries that need plumpy’nut. One of them is the Ivory Coast as documented in the interview with Annie Bodmer-Roy of Save the Children. Here is one of the recipients of plumpy’nut.
Ten-month-old Sara has been found to be malnourished, and will receive treatment to make her strong and healthy again. Even before the conflict, already one in three children under five years old in Côte d’Ivoire was suffering from chronic malnutrition (Photo: Annie Bodmer-Roy/Save the Children)
Plumpy’nut is a special peanut paste used to treat severe child malnutrition in small children. Countries suffering from conflict, natural disasters, or poverty need adequate supplies of plumpy’nut to combat child malnutrition. The plumpy’nut requires no cooking and can be easily stored and distributed. Children who suffer malnutrition in the first 1,000 days will have lasting physical and mental damage. (Photo: Annie Bodmer-Roy/Save the Children)
Sara receives a supply of plumpy’nut: Genevieve, 34, heads home from the local health clinic with her son Komène and her daughter Sara, 10 months, asleep wrapped up against her mother’s back in the town of Guezon, western Ivory Coast. Genevieve has just received a bag full of plumpy’nut, a peanut paste packed with vitamins and minerals, designed to help babies like Sara recover from malnutrition. (photo: Annie Bodmer-Roy/Save the Children)
Save the Children has an emergency fund set up for the Ivory Coast at their web site.
Filed under Africa, Edesia, global hunger, Ivory Coast, malnutrition, plumpy'nut, Save the Children, West Africa
Support Save the Children’s Ivory Coast Crisis Fund
Although the political crisis sparked by last year’s elections has now been resolved, immediate needs remain for hundreds of thousands of people, many of whom are still displaced from their homes even today. Save the Children is running an emergency response in the Ivory Coast to make sure that children are able to access enough nutritious food to stay healthy and strong; medical care and treatment; and clean drinking water. We’re also working closely with other agencies and the government so that children are well-protected against violence, abuse and exploitation, also making sure that children can get back into school. As families begin to return home, we are looking at transitioning some of our programmes into longer-term work to ensure that even once the immediate crisis has passed, children and their families are not forgotten, and continue to receive the assistance they need to build their lives back.
Annie Bodmer-Roy/Save the Children
You can donate to support Save the Children’s Ivory Coast Crisis Fund at their web site.
Read the full interview with Annie Bodmer-Roy of Save the Children.
Filed under Africa, Ivory Coast, malnutrition, Save the Children
