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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
19 June 2013

What next for achieving global nutrition?

Nutrition has long been a neglected part of global development. (..) But this issue is now being addressed. On 8 June, a high-level summit – Nutrition for Growth – took place in London. (..) The global situation regarding nutrition is critical. According to the United Nations World Food Programme, there are 870 million undernourished people in the world today, meaning one in eight people does not get enough of the right sort of food to be healthy and lead active lives.
The Guardian
Hunger in the news
19 June 2013

Drought, poor harvest to worsen Haiti food crisis - WFP

An estimated 1.5 million Haitians face hunger because of poor harvests and rising food prices, as the Caribbean nation continues to reel from a series of natural disasters, says the U.N. World Food Programme (WFP). (..) “We are very concerned that 1.5 million people in Haiti face severe food insecurity, which means they need food assistance and don’t have all the food they need for a full and active life,” Alejandro Lopez-Chicheri, WFP’s senior spokesperson for Latin America and the Caribbean, told Thomson Reuters Foundation. “Another 6.7 million people are struggling to meet their own food needs on a regular basis. Our main concern is children, pregnant women and breastfeeding mothers.”
Thomson Reuters Foundation
Hunger in the news
17 June 2013

Influx of Syrian refugees stretches Jordan’s water resources even more thinly

In the best of times, the solitary well that services this parched border town produced only enough water to let each household run its taps for a few hours a week. That was before civil war broke out in Syria, and before 180,000 thirsty refugees took up residence in a vast city of tents and trailers next door. (..) U.N. relief organizations provide food and shelter for many of the newcomers, but it has fallen mainly to Jordan to supply water for the camps as well as for the legions of Syrians who have taken shelter in Jordanian border towns and in Amman, the capital.
The Washington Post
Hunger in the news
17 June 2013

G8 Northern Ireland summit: Syria set to top agenda

The leaders of the G8 nations are to begin a summit in Northern Ireland, with Syria's conflict set to dominate. (..) The 39th Summit of the Group Of Eight (G8) will be held in Lough Erne, County Fermanagh, on Monday and Tuesday.
BBC News
Hunger in the news
17 June 2013

Does a Child Die From Hunger Every 15 Seconds?

More or Less examines the claim that every 15 seconds a child dies of hunger. (..) It is a popular statistic used by celebrities and charity campaigners in support of the Enough Food for Everyone IF campaign. (..) Ruth Alexander takes a detailed look at the problem of child malnutrition - which countries are worst affected, and what is being done to try to ease the problem. She is joined by Jack Lundie, If campaign; Professor Robert Black, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and Jane Howard from the UN World Food Programme.
BBC World Service
Hunger in the news
17 June 2013

PM meets WFP new representative

Prime Minister Mohammed Salem Basindwa met here on Saturday with the newly appointed representative of the World Food Programme (WFP) in Yemen Bishaw Parajuli. During the meeting, Basindwa and Parajuli discussed aspects of the current and future cooperation between Yemen and the WFP to encounter food shortage, especially in the food-poorest areas in a number of governorates targeted by the government and the WFP. The WFP official briefed the Prime Minister on joint programs scheduled to be implemented in the remaining period of the current year in coordination with the Education Ministry.
Yemen News Agency (SABA)
Hunger in the news
13 June 2013

MasterCard readies smart cards for Iraqi welfare reforms

MasterCard is partnering with the UN World Food Programme (WPF) to promote the use of smart cards for the distribution of welfare benefits such as healthcare and education credits and food vouchers in Iraq. Details of an initial pilot for the potential introduction of electronic food vouchers in the Iraqi Public Distribution System (PDS) are being hammered out in a two-day technical workshop comprising representatives from the Iraqi government, the WPF and MasterCard. (..) The two-day workshop will be followed by a consultative meeting on 12 June to discuss a timetable for welfare reform.
Finextra
Hunger in the news
13 June 2013

World cereal production to rise 6.5 pct in 2013/14-FAO

World cereal production is expected to rise 6.5 percent in 2013/14 to reach a record 2.46 billion tonnes, mainly due to higher wheat output and a rebound in maize production in the United States, the United Nations food agency said on Thursday. A likely replenishment in world cereal stocks could lead to easing prices in the new season, the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) said in its biannual Food Outlook report.
Thomson Reuters Foundation
Hunger in the news
13 June 2013

Syria crisis puts Lebanese farmers at risk

The livelihoods of dozens of farmers just outside this small village, in a remote area of Lebanon’s Beka’a Valley near the Syrian border, hang in the balance. Local farmers say many in the no-man’s land between the Syrian and Lebanese frontier posts, known as Mashari El Qaa, have abandoned their farms in recent months, in some cases leaving their equipment and running when they see Syrian rebels approaching. Others have stopped planting because of landmines or reduced their visits to their fields. (..) A recent assessment by FAO of the impact of the Syrian crisis on food security and agricultural livelihoods in neighbouring countries found that it has become extremely difficult for Lebanese farmers to sustain their livelihoods.
IRIN News
Hunger in the news
11 June 2013

Ten ways to save a million lives

June 10 - In London on 8 June, UK Prime Minister David Cameron, together with an array of presidents, prime ministers, businesspeople and philanthropists, signed the Global Nutrition for Growth Compact, an agreement to improve the nutrition of children and pregnant women around the world. Inside the meeting room, organizers said they had secured new commitments of up to US$4.15 billion to tackle undernutrition between now and 2020. (..) The World Food Programme (WFP) has welcomed the proposed package. Its executive director, Ertharin Cousin, told IRIN, “We believe that it’s very helpful, a recognition that the provision of interventions does make a difference in an area where WFP has a comparative advantage - distributing micronutrient support to mothers and to children."
IRIN News

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