World Food Programme Fighting Hunger Worldwide

CAIRO - Egypt lost an estimated 20.3 billion Egyptian pounds (US$3.7 billion) or 1.9 percent of Gross Domestic Product in 2009 as a result of child undernutrition, according to a study launched today in Cairo.

CAIRO – Poverty and food insecurity in Egypt have risen significantly over the last three years according to joint reports released today by the UN World Food Programme (WFP), the government’s Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics (CAPMAS) and the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI).

Zeinab, 11, a schoolgirl from Upper Egypt, is keen on school and wants to be a teacher when she grows up. In this short interview she tells us about her life, her family, her favourite food (and how to cook it).

WFP's rapid response ICT teams are playing a critical role in ensuring that telecommunications are up and running to respond to the North Africa crisis. For IT assistant Hossam Metwally, the long days have paid off: he is seeing first-hand the importance of building the communications framework needed to deliver food aid.

WFP Executive Director Josette Sheeran has called for humanitarian access to areas of Libya in need of food assistance after traveling to the Tunisia border on Tuesday to meet local authorities, aid organisations, and people who have fled the ongoing disturbances in Libya. Watch video | Read statement

A project to bring nutritionally-enhanced vegetable oil into the homes of some 60 million people got underway this week in a bid to stem widespread malnutrition in Egypt. The joint effort makes use of Egypt’s vast subsidized food system to ensure that the country’s poorest get the vitamins and minerals they need.

Ghana, Guatemala, Bangladesh and Cape Verde are just a few of the countries where national governments, working with WFP and others, are taking effective steps to fight hunger themselves. WFP is marking World Food Day this year by spotlighting these successes and the importance of partnerships.

Baladi bread is the backbone of the Egyptian diet. Cheap, filling and ingrained into Egypt’s culture, it’s also the only food most poor Egyptians can afford. That’s why WFP and partners are enriching it with micronutrients to bring proper nutrition into the homes over 50 million people. Watch video

On her first outing as a WFP Ambassador Against Hunger, Tunisian filmstar Hend Sabry visited schools in Upper Egypt to meet girls who take part in a WFP-supported school meals programme. One of them was a high-flier who said her education wouldn’t even be possible without food aid.