We have seen the heartbreaking images of Syrians in desperate attempts to flee their war-torn homeland. All they want is to find safety in Europe, away from the conflict in the Middle East.
Thousands of Syrians each day are making this dangerous journey. They are tired, scared and hungry. What should the international community do? Start welcoming them.
See the full commentary at The Huffington Post.
Filed under global hunger
The United Nations, in a report released yesterday, says a key Yemeni port has sustained severe damage, preventing food deliveries for potentially millions. This is the latest blow to strike Yemen, a country spiraling toward famine because of a civil war.
Read the full article at Examiner.
Filed under global hunger
While there has been much focus on the Iranian nuclear deal, we cannot forget about the nations that have nuclear weapons. Progress on global nuclear disarmament is stalled. That is because there is no treaty in force preventing new nuclear testing.
Read the full article at Blogcritics.
Filed under nuclear weapons
The United States is deploying warplanes to Turkey to step up the fight against the Islamic State in Syria. But we cannot forget the other enemy Syrians are facing — hunger. This may be the most powerful foe of all.
The UN World Food Programme, or WFP, feeds around 4 million people inside Syria each month, but many civilians are still starving. They are trapped by the ongoing civil war, which has destroyed food production and farming.
Read the full article at The Boston Globe.
Filed under global hunger
As Syrian refugees face increasing hunger, we can find inspiration from Egypt’s own history to meet this humanitarian emergency. It was April 1946, when the former United States president Herbert Hoover came to Cairo on an urgent mission.
Famine threatened the globe. President Harry Truman dispatched Hoover as a food ambassador. His goal was to find food supplies that could …
Read the full article at Daily News Egypt
Filed under global hunger
All over the globe UNICEF, the United Nations Children’s Agency, is working to lift children out of desperation and poverty. At this very moment UNICEF is on the frontlines of today’s largest humanitarian emergencies, aiding children in war-torn Syria, Yemen, Iraq, and South Sudan.
The origins of UNICEF go all the way back to the World War II era. Dr Jennifer Morris, a professor at Mount St. Joseph University (MSJU), takes us inside this history in her new book The Origins of UNICEF.
In the following interview Dr. Morris talks about how she developed this work on the history of this famous humanitarian organization.
Read the interview at Cincinnati.com
Filed under Books
It seems like Democrats and Republicans never agree on anything. But think again. They are finding common ground over food. And it could make a huge difference for America.
When Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) recently signed on to the Hunger Free Summer for Kids Act of 2015, he found allies from across the aisle. Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) joined him. So did Sens. John Boozman (R-Ark.) and Mark Kirk (R-Ill.). From his party Sens. Michael Bennet (D-Colo.) and Joe Donnelly (D-Ind.) were among the first to join Brown.
Read the full article at The Hill:
Filed under Hunger in America
We, the international community, must speak out for the people left starving by Syria’s civil war. All across Syria, civilians are routinely being blocked from receiving the food needed to survive. The world cannot turn its back on these innocent war victims.
One scene of this ongoing tragedy in Syria is Yarmouk and the nearby towns of Yalda, Babila and Beit Saham. They all need life-saving food right away. Years of civil war has ruined food supplies for this area.
Read the full article at The Huffington Post.
Filed under global hunger
The UN World Food Programme (WFP) said today that food rations have been reduced for Iraqi war victims. Facing low funding, WFP had no choice but to cut back on the food supplied to the displaced Iraqis.
Read the full article at Examiner.
Filed under global hunger
Senator Sherrod Brown (D-OH) yesterday announced co-sponsorship of the Hunger Free Summer for Kids Act. This legislation would tackle the massive summer feeding crisis in America.
During the school year, low-income children receive free lunches from the federal government. However, when summer comes and schools are closed, these same children often miss out on that daily meal. There are a lack of feeding sites to make up for the school cafeterias being closed.
Senator Brown says, “Summer break shouldn’t mean a break from good nutrition. Summer meal programs provide the nutrition assistance for children that they would normally receive in school, ensuring their healthy development and easing the burden on their families.” The Hunger Free Summer for Kids Act, if given enough support, could be passed in the Child Nutrition legislation in the coming weeks.
According to Feeding America, 82% of children who receive the school lunches during the year do not get them during the summer. The summer months become a time when hunger escalates among children. The Hunger Free Summer for Kids Act aims to stop this.
One remedy the bill has put forward is providing needy families an electronic benefit transfer (EBT) card during the summer months. This would provide 30 dollars a month per child so the family can purchase extra food to make up for the lost school lunches. This would help children who cannot get to summer feeding sites.
While there are efforts to increase the number of summer feeding sites, they cannot possibly make up the difference. According to Feeding America, there are 9 million low-income children who live in areas that are ineligible to have summer feeding sites. So clearly an EBT card would be vital to them.
Feeding America is calling on its supporters to contact their representatives in support of the bill. So far there has been bipartisan support. Senators John Boozman (R-AR), Michael Bennet (D-CO), Mitch McConnell (R-KY), Mark Kirk (R-IL) and Joe Donnelly (D-IN) have joined Brown in support of the Hunger Free Summer for Kids Act. An advocacy page has been set up by Feeding America.
Read the full article at Examiner.
Filed under global hunger
Author William Lambers 