World Food Programme Fighting Hunger Worldwide

Friday's 'Hope For Haiti' telethon, organized by George Clooney and broadcast across nearly every major network, raised over $57 million in phone, online and text donations, in the 24 hours following the event. (..) The money raised will be split equally among seven relief organizations: Oxfam America, Partners in Health, the Red Cross, UNICEF, The Clinton Bush Haiti Fund, the United Nations World Food Programme, and Wyclef Jean's Yéle Haiti.

Rebuilding Haiti will be a long-term project and the earthquake occurred just when the world’s finances are beginning to come out of economic recession. Despite the economic times, people are responding by donating to relief efforts, just as they did after the 2004 Boxing Day tsunami. “Every little bit helps,” said Trevor Page, who was stationed in Haiti in the 1970s when he was a director with the United Nations World Food Program. “Because governments are cash-strapped the public needs to lead the way.”

Princess Haya bint Al Hussein arrived in Amman last night from Haiti along with 21 survivors from around the Middle East of the Caribbean island earthquake. (..) After being lowered on to the runway in a cargo lift on Friday, the princess was met by peacekeeping chiefs and the head of the UN’s World Food Programme (WFP), Josette Sheeran, who told her: “You’re bringing hope.” Her jet brought tents to supply 90 per cent of the WFP staff in Haiti who sleep under the stars. “Our people are living on the streets while they are saving this nation,” Ms Sheeran said. “These tents will help protect their families while they continue to work for us.”

Retired gymnast and WFP ambassador Li Ning Thursday said he would pay for five humanitarian flights to bring food and other relief materials to earthquake-stricken Haiti.(..)"WFP is very touched by the generosity of Li Ning and so many Chinese people," said Anthea Webb, director of the U.N. agency's China Office.

Governments have pledged nearly $1 billion in aid to Haiti, according to an Associated Press estimate, including $575 million from the European Union's 27 nations. Those promises include:(..)Norway: $17.5 million in aid earmarked for the WFP(..)WFP: More than 250,000 ready-to-eat rations delivered. More than 10 million to arrive within the next week.

The hunt for survivors of Haiti's earthquake slowed Thursday, but a humanitarian operation intensified, with relief workers sending food to imperiled orphans and truckloads of water and generators snarling traffic in the capital.(..)Christian Fortier, a logistics expert with the WFP, said the group was finally getting a steady supply of gasoline from the Dominican Republic and was finding more Haitian drivers now that cellphones were working.(..)Alejandro Lopez-Chicheri, a spokesman for the WFP, said the group's priorities include getting supplies to the 54 orphanages in the capital.

Thousands of Haitians are continuing to flee the capital, Port-au-Prince, fearful of aftershocks and concerned at the bleak prospects for work and normal life following the deadly earthquake of January 12.(..)"We will probably need to feed between one to two million but it depends on the rate at which people leave the city," Thiry Benoit, WFP's deputy country representative in Haiti, said.

UN-supported relief efforts to reach the countless victims of Haiti's devastating earthquake are expanding to areas away from Port-au- Prince to smaller towns and communities as aid agencies struggle to ramp up their operations to meet the enormity of the task, UN officials said here on Thursday.(..)WFP Executive Director Josette Sheeran began a two-day visit to Haiti on Thursday to assess the situation, visit those affected and meet with government and relief agency officials.

Arriving in Haiti and walking straight into a landscape of destroyed buildings and devastated lives, Dane Novarlic and his colleagues were left in no doubt as to the scale of the job in hand. As members of the UN World Food Programme’s (WFP) Fast IT and Telecommunications Emergency and Support Team (Fittest) based in Dubai, they are well versed with being dropped into such situations and expected to hit the ground running.

The United Nations' World Food Program estimates three million earthquake survivors in Haiti will need ready-to-eat food rations over the next month. When aid workers face the challenge of providing food in hot, humid climate without refrigeration, they often turn to high-energy biscuits. (..) "These are great because there's no water, there's no electricity, they're not able to cook for themselves," the WFP's Julie Marshall said in Toronto. "This is ideal for an initial response."