World Food Programme Fighting Hunger Worldwide

PANAMA CITY – The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) is providing food assistance among small coffee producers, seasonal workers and their families in Central America, who have been affected by the current epidemic of Coffee Rust, a fungal disease that destroys the leaves of coffee plants, lowering yields, diminish fruit quality and sometimes devastating entire plantations.

From WFP Executive Director Ertharin Cousin

ROME – In 2003, the world mourned when 22 people lost their lives in an attack on the United Nations office in Baghdad, Iraq. Ten years later, we still mourn all too often for humanitarian workers killed in the line of duty. Many more are injured, detained, kidnapped, traumatized and otherwise prevented from carrying out their life-saving work.

Over 240 delegates from 37 countries are coming together in Costa do Sauípe, Brazil, to exchange experiences and debate options for developing sustainable national school feeding programmes in the Global Child Nutrition Forum 2013. It is the 15th edition of the meeting and it’s the first time that it occurs outside Africa or the United States. The Forum opens this Monday, 20 May, and will conclude on 24 May.

TEGUCIGALPA – The National Systems of Risk Management from Central American countries today began a series of simulation exercises to respond to emergencies and disasters in order to help strengthen their coordination processes and joint operation of humanitarian assistance for affected populations. These processes anticipate the participation of government institutions and national and international humanitarian actors.

ROME – The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) announced today that it will provide technical support to the Government of Mexico’s efforts to eradicate hunger and malnutrition through its newly created “National Crusade against Hunger”.

The Centre of Excellence, located in the capital city of Brasilia, will assist governments in Africa, Asia, and Latin America by drawing upon the expertise of WFP and Brazil in the fight against hunger, while promoting sustainable school feeding models and other food and nutrition safety nets from across the world.

PANAMA – The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) together with the governments of Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras and Nicaragua have distributed urgently needed food rations to more than 70,000 people severely affected by Tropical Depression 12E, but continuing bad weather and damage to roads and infrastructure are hampering efforts to reach isolated communities.

International food prices have increased steeply in the last six months, bringing the UN Food and Agriculture (FAO) Food Price Index to its highest level since September 2008. However, recent harvests have been better and global food stocks are higher.

FAO has called for a renewed commitment to guarantee the right to food for the world's hundreds of millions of hungry people.

Read UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon message to mark World Food Day, which this year promotes the Right to Food.