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Hunger in the news

A daily selection of news reports from the world's media dealing with hunger and responses to it.
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Hunger in the news
2 January 2013

Sudan Launches Major Dam to Boost Agricultural Production, Investment

Sudan launched a major dam project on Tuesday to boost power supply and agricultural irrigation, a plan officials hope will foster farmland exports and attract more Gulf investment to the African country as it battles an economic crisis. (..) Faced with the loss of most of its oil reserves with South Sudan's secession in 2011, Sudan plans to increase exports of agricultural goods, such as wheat, fruits, oil seeds and gum arabic.
The New York Times
Hunger in the news
31 December 2012

Sri Lanka: Back-to-back disasters compound north’s difficulties

Floods in the past two months following a long drought have left Sri Lanka’s Northern and Eastern provinces reeling, with tens of thousands of people displaced, thousands of houses damaged or destroyed, and stretches of agricultural land devastated.
IRIN
Hunger in the news
31 December 2012

MADAGASCAR: Funding gap threatens school lunches

The provision of school lunches to 215,000 children in 1,200 primary schools in southern Madagascar could be suspended by the end of January 2013 if the World Food Programme (WFP) fails to make up a funding shortfall of US$4.84 million. “Normally, we send out enough food to the schools for three months, but since the stock is so low, we are planning to send out only for a month,” said Enrique Alvarez, head of the WFP sub-office in Ambovombe, on Madagascar's southern coast. (..) Alvarez added that, in the past, when WFP had shortages, parents brought food to the schools themselves, but the severity of this year's lean season makes that impossible.
IRIN
Hunger in the news
28 December 2012

How Giving Became Cool

It was 15 years ago that Ted Turner needed something interesting to say in a speech — and decided, in a rush, to give away $1 billion. (..) So, in front of a stunned dinner audience, he announced a $1 billion gift to United Nations causes such as fighting global poverty. (..) Turner’s gift helped change that culture, reviving the tradition of great philanthropists like Rockefeller and Carnegie. Turner publicly began needling other billionaires — including Bill Gates and Warren Buffett — to be more generous. That was a breach of etiquette, but it worked.
The New York Times
Hunger in the news
28 December 2012

For Syria refugees, camp life gets even worse in winter

Winter's cold is a serious threat, especially for children and those already weakened after their escape from Syria, say officials with the United Nations and other agencies assisting the Syrian multitudes. (..) At Zaatari, home to about 40,000 refugees, workers are hastening to winterize the vast camp, situated in an inhospitable stretch of desert where winter temperatures regularly plunge below freezing and strong winds and snow are not uncommon. (..) The vast majority of refugees stay with host families, rent homes or otherwise scramble to find housing and aid. More than 500,000 have signed up for U.N. assistance.
Los Angeles Times
Hunger in the news
28 December 2012

Zimbabweans Brace for Bleak Holidays

Christmas in Zimbabwe is also the hunger season — the time between harvests from September to March — for most of the nation's impoverished rural population who depend on food hand-outs. (..) Food shortages are "worse" this year compared to the last three years due to drought and constrained access to cash to buy seed and fertilizer for rural farmers, said World Food Program Zimbabwe country director Felix Bamezon.
AP/ABC News
Hunger in the news
27 December 2012

Philippines: Australia Provides Additional Assistance to Typhoon Bopha Response

The Australian Government has increased its assistance to Php307 million (A$7.3 million) in response to the increasing humanitarian needs from Typhoon Pablo.

Australian Embassy in the Philippines Balita.org Inquirer.net Interaksyon
Hunger in the news
21 December 2012

Sahel: Malnourished to remain above one million in 2013

Despite good rains across much of the Sahel this year, 1.4 million children are expected to be malnourished - up from one million in 2012, according to the 2013 Sahel regional strategy. (..) But humanitarians worry of donor fatigue and many are concerned possible military intervention in Mali will distract donors from the chronic food insecurity and malnutrition crises in the region. (..) Alain Cordeil, head of the World Food Programme (WFP) in Mauritania, voiced his fears. “If we only have political interest from donors for refugees, we will not solve the problems for this region…This could be very chaotic,” he told IRIN.
IRIN
Hunger in the news
21 December 2012

Sri Lanka: WFP eyes cash/voucher expansion

The World Food Programme (WFP) hopes to expand its ongoing cash/voucher (C/V) programme across northern Sri Lanka, allowing thousands of recent returnees to diversify their diets. “More than 15,000 men, women and children have so far benefited from the programme in Jaffna,” Mads Lofvall, WFP acting country representative, told IRIN. “With the expansion we hope to reach more than the currently planned beneficiary caseload - 45,000 over the next two years.”
IRIN
Hunger in the news
20 December 2012

Getting food in Syria is 'a nightmare,' says WFP

It is becoming increasingly difficult for Syrians to get enough food as the conflict continues in the country, according to the World Food Programme. (..) WFP spokesperson in Geneva Elisabeth Byrs tells UN Radio's Patrick Maigua that since the beginning of November her agency has distributed food assistance to 1.3 million people inside Syria.
UN Radio