The United Nations, in a report released today, said that “access to food remains limited” for those who have fled the wave of violence in South Sudan.
There is fear of a malnutrition crisis emerging in the conflict-torn country, and this could claim more lives than the combat itself.
Read the full article at Examiner.com
Filed under global hunger
One of the largest conflicts in the world is taking place in the Central African Republic (CAR). Armed groups are terrorizing people across the country. Almost half the population has fled their homes and need humanitarian aid. With this outbreak of violence has emerged another enemy for the people: hunger.
This conflict gets far less attention than others, but President Obama did address the people of the CAR in a message of peace in December. This peace plan must be reinforced quickly with food aid or more desperation and chaos will follow.
Read the full article at The Huffington Post
Filed under global hunger
The horrific numbers increase daily from the war in Syria. The UN now says that 6.3 million Syrians need life-saving food aid. The UN World Food Programme (WFP) requires $2 billion to feed them in 2014. If this war continues, these numbers will go up again.
“This is the worst humanitarian crisis that we have seen in decades, with every day more vulnerable Syrians pushed into hunger,” says Muhannad Hadi, Syria coordinator for WFP.
The U.S. Congress needs to act and boost our Food for Peace program to meet this Syrian emergency as well as others. As the new year approaches, the Philippines, Central African Republic, Mali, Democratic Republic of Congo, and South Sudan have been struck by conflict or natural disasters.
The Farm Bill legislation, which Congress will take up again in January, is where Food for Peace funding is decided.
WFP depends on Food for Peace as its largest single donor. It’s crucial that Congress support Food for Peace when you consider the ongoing humanitarian emergencies.World Food Day
David Kauck of Save the Children points out that reforms to Food for Peace must also be passed. “These changes would include eliminating restrictions on the use of local and regional food procurement; repealing inefficient shipping requirements; and scaling down food aid monetization over a period of time, accompanied by an equivalent increase in development assistance.”
When a disaster occurs, such as the typhoon in the Philippines, aid groups can sometimes use local food sources to feed those in need. Aid groups must have no restrictions on using this option.
Kauck adds, “Early research shows that the reforms could provide considerable cost savings resulting in more aid to more children, greater flexibility to use the most appropriate approach available to assist people in need, and faster humanitarian response times.”
The Farm Bill impacts both our domestic and foreign policies. A strong Farm Bill feeds the hungry both at home and abroad. Only in this way can we be strong as a nation, and also further global peace and stability.
Food aid is the only thing that will save children from damaging and even deadly malnutrition. Food is a force that can help restore peace.
We also know there is enough food on the planet for everyone, and no one, especially children, should be without.
Let’s remember that our decisions on food aid policy can change lives and make or break an entire generation in whole countries and regions. So let’s take the right action on the Farm Bill. Let us choose Food for Peace.
Read the full article at Yahoo! Voices
Filed under global hunger, Uncategorized
The UN World Food Programme (WFP) appealed today for US $ 107 million to feed those starving in the conflict-torn Central African Republic. The UN food agency relies on voluntary donations from governments and the public.
WFP is planning to feed at least 1.25 million people, many who have been displaced from violence by armed groups terrorizing the country.
Read the full article at Examiner.com
Filed under global hunger
The UN World Food Programme (WFP), in a report released today, says it urgently needs funds for its relief mission in the Central African Republic. WFP says it’s “facing immediate shortfalls from January. From February there will be a near complete break in stocks (90% shortfall).”
The UN food agency relies entirely on voluntary donations. As conflict has escalated in the Central African Republic, so too has the hunger crisis.
Read the full article at Examiner.com
Filed under global hunger
The UN World Food Programme (WFP) said today it’s feeding around 30,000 civilians who have fled violence between the government and opposition forces. Save the Children is aiding the food distributions.
Civilians have taken refugee in UN peacekeeping compounds in Juba, the capital of South Sudan, and Bentiu. The food aid will expand throughout this week to reach other locations.
Read the full article at Examiner.com
Filed under global hunger
The United Nations said yesterday it’s feeding 160,000 victims of recent fighting in the Central African Republic. The White House also announced a US $10 million donation to the UN World Food Programme (WFP) for its relief mission there.
In the Central African Republic (CAR) there are over a million people impacted by hunger.
Read the full article at Examiner.com
Filed under global hunger
Many winters ago in a tiny village in Austria, the Christmas Carol “Silent Night” was born. In a small church in Oberndorf, the song of peace and heavenly love was first played.
Peace would not last though in the land of music. The World Wars came. The destruction was massive. Even after World War II ended there was still suffering among the people. They were without food.
Austrian children could not even grow because it was hard finding one meal a day. Without enough nutrition the next generation cannot develop or learn. They cannot make music.
The U.S. Army, Catholic Relief Services, UNICEF and others brought food to Austria for war recovery. Meals were distributed at schools. They tried to bring life back to normal. No easy task. Times would be tough with a major drought in 1947, limiting food supplies.
Then “Silent Night” came to the rescue. It was the holidays of 1948 when a woman in New Jersey suggested that every time someone heard “Silent Night” on the radio they donate a meal.
This idea was adopted as part of a holiday program, started the year before, where people bought CARE packages for those in need. These parcels of food were sent to Austria and other nations.
Like the Christmas Carol that spread worldwide, so too did this plan of feeding the hungry. The holidays could truly be about sharing.
This food made a world of difference for the countries who had lost just about everything during the war.
With food, a people and a nation can bounce back. Only when hunger is beaten, can there be peace. That is the message of “Silent Night.”
Today, Obendorf and its peaceful church lit up at night is a symbol of the peace of Christmas, the “Silent Night.” The war and its starvation are long past. Yet, a world away, at another place of worship, there is a different tale.
In the Central African Republic people flock to the church to stay alive and find food. Violence has erupted there among rebel groups. People are constantly on the run for their lives. Their possessions are lost. Farmers can no longer plant. So hunger and poverty now increase.
They depend on security from UN peacekeepers and the World Food Program to bring them life-saving rations. But that is only if there is enough funds from the international community to feed them.
When you think of Christmas, the holidays, and “Silent Night” think of the Central African Republic. Think of the food and peace they need to overcome conflict and build their society.
Think also of the flood of Syrian refugees into Lebanon. They have escaped the civil war in their country only to find a new enemy: winter. They just want a roof over their head and warm meals.
What more noble act could be done this holiday then to feed the hungry war victims? Or to bring food and shelter to those in the storm hit areas of the Philippines and other countries. The World Food Program, Catholic Relief Services, Save the Children, UNICEF and many others struggling to bring relief to so many areas in need.
Originally published at the Huffington Post.
Filed under world hunger
Imagine, for a moment, losing your home and having to flee to another state or country. When natural disasters or war strike, these worst fears become reality.
As this holiday season approaches, there are millions of people in the Philippines and the Middle East who just want the basics of food, water and shelter.
Last week heavy fighting in Syria sent at least 8,000 people running for their lives into neighboring Lebanon.
“The majority of them are women and children and some of them reported shelling and clashes along displacement routes on the way to Arsal,” UN World Food Programme spokesperson Laure Chadraoui told me.
The World Food Programme (WFP) is bringing them aid packages. Some of these refugees had already been displaced once within Syria before now finally being forced out of their home country.
Once in Lebanon, Syrian refugees are not completely safe. Cold and hunger threaten them. The UN Refugee Agency says many “live in poor accommodation in informal settlements, unfinished buildings, garages, worksites and warehouses that are not properly insulated against the cold climate.”
Francine Uenuma of Save the Children, says, “when I was in Lebanon last February, when it was extremely cold, and many of the kids were outside in sandals. Many also had coughs — the sub-zero temperatures mean many face chest infections, not to mention other health problems like hypothermia and frostbite.”
Syrians have also fled to Jordan, Iraq, Egypt and Turkey. Throughout the Middle East there are over two million Syrian refugees. Aid groups and host governments are facing a huge task to help these war victims, many who have lost everything.
In Iraq, WFP is providing Plumpy’Doz to small Syrian children who are at risk of severe malnutrition. This special peanut paste can save their lives. The WFP is also providing extra food to children at schools to bolster class attendance and performance.
While this massive relief operation is ongoing in the Middle East, a world away is an emergency in the Philippines following Typhoon Haiyan. More than 11 million Filipinos were impacted by the high winds, flooding and destruction caused by the storm.
The World Food Programme, UNICEF and other aid groups are rushing to bring them food, water, and medicine. The storm victims need shelter quickly. More rain and storms may be on the way. Aid is needed fast to save lives and to prevent the situation from getting worse.
Consider this: If children, especially, do not get enough nutrients it can cause lasting physical and mental damage. The lack of food or clean water can cause the spread of disease.
As the holidays come before us there is a great tradition called Black Friday, which marks the start of the holiday shopping season. Stores and individuals could donate at least a portion of their sales or purchasing funds toward relief of the suffering people in the Philippines and the Middle East.
Here are lists of some aid agencies with relief funds for the Philippines and for Syria. Some individuals have donated already. It is deeply appreciated too as Jen Hardy of Catholic Relief Services tells us from the Philippines.
Originally published at The Huffington Post.
Filed under global hunger
The new Hunger Games film is teaming with the World Food Programme and Feeding America. World Food Programme. (WFP photo)
The New Hunger Games movie: Catching Fire has so much potential beyond being a stellar film. With extra imagination, and a little inspiration from history, this blockbuster can make a difference fighting world hunger.
The Hunger Games is teaming up with the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) and Feeding America. The mission is to feed the hungry.
A special web site has been set up to get fans involved. There is information about the global hunger crisis. There are even Hunger Games prizes for the film, which stars Jennifer Lawrence and Liam Hemsworth. A site dedicated to the first Hunger Games movie is also available. You can take a special quiz and see a video message from Jennifer Lawrence.
This is a great opportunity for the movie industry to use its powerful influence to help bring relief to the starving children in Syria, Mali, Haiti, Sudan, Afghanistan, and the Central African Republic.
This takes on even more urgency with the recent disaster in the Philippines, where a typhoon has left millions at risk of hunger and malnutrition. WFP is the lead agency in feeding storm victims.
The UN food agency, which relies on voluntary donations, is already stretched thin by the hunger crisis caused by the war in Syria. The Hunger Games, with its powerful media influence, can be a support in raising funds and awareness.
We know this can work. History tell us so. With famine lurking over Europe in the aftermath of World War I, the young motion picture industry came to the rescue.
Herbert Hoover and General John Pershing appealed for donations to the European Relief Council. As part of this campaign the movie industry held fundraisers nationwide. A two reel film was specially prepared for theaters. Stars made appearances at films to help the cause.
In Louisville, Kentucky two young local dancers performed at the Majestic and Crown Theaters. The Louisville Courier Journal proudly ran an article about its local talent with the headline “They’re Helping Europe’s Children.” Millions of Europeans received food from this outpouring of support in America.
During World War II films were used by American Relief for Norway and other groups to inform and raise donations. After World War II a film called the Seeds of Destiny won an Academy Award for showing the plight of the starving overseas. This film was influential in helping secure the food that was needed for the rebuilding of the war devastated nations.
Now today there are 842 million people worldwide suffering from hunger. In America, cuts to the food stamps program is going to place a huge strain on Feeding America’s network of food banks. The WFP and Feeding America each need support for their hunger relief missions.
When you go to the movie theater, think of sending the cost of an extra ticket to the World Food Programme or Feeding America. If a ticket costs 10 dollars, that is equal to around 40 meals donated.
Feeding a “silent guest,” one of the world’s hungry, was a big hit in America after World War II. You can carry on that tradition with the Hunger Games film and throughout the holidays.
You can get started by visiting the Hunger Games site. Then let your own imagination take over from there.
Originally published at The Huffington Post.
Filed under global hunger
Author William Lambers 