World Food Programme Fighting Hunger Worldwide

Hunger and chronic malnutrition are on the rise in Zimbabwe, the UN Office for the Co-ordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) has said. (..) The ministry is working in conjunction with the nutrition cluster of organisations in the country that include UN Children's Fund, International Organisation for Migration, Goal, World Vision, the World Food Programme and Plan International.

In 2008, Zimbabwe harvested less than 500 000 tonnes of maize. Two years down the line, maize production more than doubled in 2009 and 2010 to 1,27 and 1,35 million tonnes respectively. According to a FAO/WFP statement, Zimbabwe has 1,66 million tonnes of cereals available, against a total needs forecast of 2,09 million tonnes in the marketing year 2010/11 (April/ March).

One in three children in Zimbabwe suffers from chronic malnutrition, according to a new study by the United Nations Children’s Fund and the country's public health authorities, who have urged action to help vulnerable women as well as children. (..) World Food Program HIV/AIDS adviser and nutritionist Francesca Elderman told VOA Studio 7 reporter Tatenda Gumbo that regional organizations are putting together nutritional supplement packages to relieve the crisis.

Zimbabwe does not have the money to transport food aid to areas experiencing acute shortages, Agriculture Minister Joseph Made said on Monday. (..) Combined estimates by the Zimbabwe Vulnerability Assessment Committee, the United Nations Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) and the World Food Programme said about 1.7 million people out of its population of 12 million would need food aid.

A dry spell that has persisted for over a month, adversely affecting crops in many parts of Zimbabwe, could mean a lean year ahead for farmers. (..) Harvests improved in 2009 and 2010, but about 1.7 million people are still food insecure and in need of assistance according to the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and World Food Programme (WFP).

The Famine Early Warning System and Network (FEWSNET) has downgraded Zimbabwe’s food security forecast amid revelations that 400 000 more people are in danger of starvation between now and the harvest in March. (..) "The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO)/World Food Programme (WFP) Crop and Food Supply Assessment Mission estimated that an additional 400 000 people in the urban areas will not be able to meet their food needs in the 2010/11 consumption year,” .

A cartoon in a high school geography textbook depicts an obese man, with a plate of chicken by his side, sitting in front of the television watching malnourished people. (..) According to a recent report by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the World Food Programme (WFP) there has been a reduction in the production of maize, the main staple food, over the last fifteen years.

Zimbabwe has again been classified as one of 22 countries in “protracted crisis”(..). “Faced with so many obstacles, it is little wonder that protracted crises can become a self-perpetuating vicious cycle...They represent ongoing and fundamental threats to both lives and livelihoods, from which recovery may become progressively more difficult over time,” said the preface to the report, signed jointly by FAO Director General Jacques Diouf and World Food Programme Executive Director Josette Sheeran.

Less than 10 percent of Zimbabwe’s children aged two and under are consuming a diet that is “minimally acceptable”, the World Food Programme (WFP) warned in a report published last week. The UN agency said the majority of Zimbabwean toddlers were at risk of malnutrition due to a lack of balanced diets. “Only 8.4 percent of children under 2 are consuming a diet that is minimally acceptable,” WFP said in the latest Global Update: Food Security Monitoring released on Tuesday.

The donation of $70 million in international food aid has improved food security in Zimbabwe, though 1.68 million people remain in need, a U.N. report said.(..)"Despite the improved availability of food, up to 1.68 million people will need food assistance because prices remain comparatively high for families with low incomes and little or no access to U.S. dollars or South African rand," said WFP's Jan Delbaere, who co-wrote the report.