World Food Programme Fighting Hunger Worldwide

(..) Josette Sheeran, the World Food Programme's (WFP) director said last week, “It is essential that we move quickly to break the destructive cycle of drought and hunger that forces farmers to sell their means of production as part of their survival strategy."

Tanzania is staring at a food crisis in the coming months as it emerges that tonnes of food are being smuggled out to drought-stricken countries in the region despite falling harvests. (..) Josette Sheeran, executive director of the World Food Programme, said the food crisis in East Africa has left an estimated 14 million people struggling to survive due to widespread poor and erratic rainfall, combined with rising food prices in Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia and Uganda.

A severe drought in the eastern Horn of Africa is leading to a 'grave' refugee situation and is unlikely to improve before next year, a humanitarian organization warned Monday. (..) Without additional funding, Gwynne-Vaughan said the food their organization was distributing from the World Food Programme, 'will run dry by September.'

A combination of failed rains and soaring global food prices has left more than 12 million people living in remote areas across Ethiopia, Kenya and Somalia facing hunger, according to aid agencies. (..) Speaking from Dadaab, David Orr, of the World Food Programme, said the area has seen the second lowest rainfall in 60 years.

A "toxic mix" of drought, failed harvests and rising food prices have brought severe food shortages to the east and the Horn of Africa. (..) The UK's Department for International Development (DfID) has already promised the World Food Programme £38m for its work in Ethiopia, and NGOs, including Save the Children UK, Oxfam and Christian Aid, have already launched emergency appeals.

Aid agencies have launched multimillion-pound appeals to address a mounting humanitarian emergency in east Africa, where severe drought and high food prices have left 10 million people requiring assistance. (..) The British government announced on Sunday that it was giving £38m in emergency food aid to Ethiopia, following a warning from Josette Sheeran ,the World Food Programme executive director, that "desperate hunger" loomed across the Horn, "threatening the lives of millions".

(..) The World Food Programme has been feeding 4.3million people in Ethiopia, but had to reduce rations in March as funding ran out – in Kenya, it and the Kenyan government are giving food aid to 2.4 million people.

Some 10 million people are at risk in the Horn of Africa as two years of drought have forced food prices beyond the reach of most families

The UK has pledged £38m ($61m) in food aid to drought-hit Ethiopia - enough to feed 1.3m people for three months. International Development Secretary Andrew Mitchell said the World Food Programme cash would also treat 329,000 malnourished children and mothers.

Britain is to provide £38m in emergency food aid for 1.3 million people in Ethiopia, as parts of east Africa experience the worst drought in decades. The international development secretary, Andrew Mitchell, announced extra cash for the World Food Programme's work in Ethiopia on Sunday.