South Sudan: WFP Works for a Government-Led School Meals Programme

WFP school meals are helping hundreds of thousands of South Sudanese students stay in school and build a brighter future, and WFP is working to help the young country's Ministry of Education build and sustain a national school meals system.

Climate change is worsening world hunger

Imagine a world where too much rain, or too little, means the difference between a life fulfilled and a life blighted by hunger and poor nutrition. (..) This is the reality for millions of vulnerable communities. Today, almost one billion people suffer from hunger, most of them women and children. Globally, almost one in three children grows up lacking the nutrients they need to fend off disease and to develop to their full potential. And now, climate change is exacerbating the hardships they face daily. (..) In April, the Government of Ireland and the Mary Robinson Foundation Climate Justice are hosting an international conference to stimulate debate on these linked challenges, and to inspire innovative thinking and solutions.The conference - 'Hunger, Nutrition, Climate Justice 2013' - is being organised in partnership with the World Food Programme and the CGIAR Research Programme on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS).

U.N. Warns of Dire Rise in Refugees From Syria

The top United Nations refugee official told the Security Council on Wednesday that the number of registered Syrians who had fled their homeland for safety elsewhere in the region could surpass one million by next month — much sooner than expected — and that the Syrian conflict threatens to overwhelm the international response. (..) “We are facing a moment of truth in Syria,” the official, António Guterres, the United Nations high commissioner for refugees, told the Council. “The humanitarian situation is dramatic beyond description. The refugee crisis is accelerating at a staggering pace.” The other speakers were Valerie Amos, under secretary general and emergency relief coordinator, and Zainab Hawa Bangura, a former health minister of Sierra Leone, appointed by Secretary General Ban Ki-moon last year as the United Nations’ special representative on sexual violence in conflict.

Aid Worker Diaries - Lesotho: “We saw incredible joy when CARE provided help”

The small kingdom of Lesotho is experiencing a severe food crisis for many months. (..) At the beginning of February we also distributed cash vouchers so the most vulnerable people could buy food in the markets, and we saw people dancing because they would be able to buy some maize and corn. We also use these distributions as an opportunity to educate men and women about the dangers of violence in the homes or of young women having to sell the only thing they have left – their bodies – so that they can eat. (..) CARE will continue distributing vouchers and we plan to distribute cash to 2,000 together with the World Food Program (WFP) to the most vulnerable households following their participation in a number of environmental rehabilitation activities.