UN agency honours Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu as champion against hunger

26 January 2012 – The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) today is honouring Nobel Peace Prize Laureate and activist Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu for his efforts in the battle against hunger and his advocacy on behalf of the world’s most vulnerable people.

“I can think of no more worthy individual as a recipient of this honour, than a man who has confronted tyranny and defended the weak and the hungry, armed with nothing but the strength of his faith and the unwavering belief in upholding the rights of the oppressed,” said WFP Executive Director Josette Sheeran.

UNICEF warns on high rates of malnutrition among children in Yemen

25 January 2012 – The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has warned that half a million children in Yemen could die or suffer physical and mental damage as a result of malnutrition, unless sufficient resources are made available to alleviate the effects of conflict, chronic poverty and drought.

Cooperatives central to fighting hunger, stresses UN agency

24 January 2012 – Cooperatives and producer organizations will be increasingly important in efforts to eliminate hunger and reduce poverty, the head of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) said today.

Ending World Hunger Is Possible -- Davos Is Part of the Process

No, despite what you might think, the truth is that those who go to Davos go with a purpose. (..) This year, I'll be there to listen, to share what we've learned as Kraft Foods and to urge action to tackle three of the greatest challenges facing the world today: food security, environmental degradation and economic development. (..) There are also lots of ways you can get directly involved in fighting hunger and supporting sustainable agriculture -- from buying certified cocoa and coffee products to supporting the World Food Program. 

WFP Executive Director Travels To World Economic Forum

ROME – The Executive Director of the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP), Josette Sheeran, will attend the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting 2012 in Davos, Switzerland, beginning on Wednesday, 25 January.

The World Economic Forum is an opportunity for WFP to engage with the world’s political, economic and business leaders to discuss their role in supporting efforts to alleviate global hunger - the world’s greatest solvable problem.

Early action can avert Sahel food and nutrition crisis – UN expert

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GENEVA – “Drought, poor harvests and rising food prices have left the Sahel region of West-Central Africa on the brink of a humanitarian crisis,” warned Olivier De Schutter, UN Special Rapporteur on the right to food.

“We must not wait until people are starving in order to act. The world must respond immediately to avert a full-scale food and nutrition crisis,” the Special Rapporteur said. “This crisis may look like a natural calamity, but it is in fact a symptom of our failure to be better prepared and to react more swiftly to early warning signs. The failure of the international community to act, now and in the future, would result in major violations of the right to food.”

FAO Food Price Index ends year with sharp decline

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12 January 2012, Rome - Food prices fell in December 2011 with the FAO Food Price Index dropping 2.4 percent, or five points from November, FAO said today.

At its new level of 211 points, the Index was 11.3 percent (27 points) below its peak in February 2011.

The decline was driven by sharp falls in international prices of cereals, sugar and oils due to bumper 2011 crops coupled with slowing demand and a stronger US dollar. Most commodities were affected. 

South Sudan appeals for humanitarian aid amid fighting

09 January 2012-South Sudan appealed for international aid for a remote region that has been under attack by roaming fighters, as thousands of residents fled into the bush to avoid the violence.

The government declared Jonglei state a "humanitarian disaster area" and called on international aid agencies to help provide urgently needed assistance.

It is not yet clear how many people have been killed or injured in the violence.

The United Nations said Thursday it was mounting a "massive emergency support programme" to help those displaced by fighting.

France Partners With WFP To Join Humanitarian Response Depot Network

ROME – The UN World Food Programme (WFP) and the French Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs today signed a partnership agreement to join a network aimed at boosting global emergency preparedness with UN Humanitarian Response Depots (UNHRD).

UN food agency launches initiative to fight hunger in Afghan cities

3 January 2012 – The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) announced today a new food subsidy initiative geared towards providing Afghanistan’s urban poor with guaranteed access to provisions despite the threat of food insecurity across the country.

The project, coordinated in partnership with the Afghan Ministry of Labour, Social Affairs, Martyrs, and Disabled (MoLSAMD), is designed to assist households in Kabul through a monthly cash voucher programme aimed at offsetting the impact high food prices have on the city’s poor.

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