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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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25 January 2013

Mali: emergency aid for people displaced in centre of country

Geneva/Niamey (ICRC) – Some 7,000 Malians (people displaced by fighting in the Diabali area and families hosting them) are today receiving emergency supplies of food and other basic necessities in the towns of Niono, Kala Seguida and Mariko, in the central part of the country. The aid is being distributed by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and the Mali Red Cross.

ICRC
Hunger in the news
24 January 2013

DSM and UN WFP strengthen partnership to combat global malnutrition

Royal DSM, the global Life Sciences and Materials Sciences company, and the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP), the world’s largest humanitarian organization fighting hunger around the world, today signed an Agreement extending their existing partnership for three years (to 2015) to combat hidden hunger and malnutrition in the developing world. DSM and WFP will seek to double the number of people who benefit from their work together, from the current annual reach of 15 million to 25-30 million per year by 2015. DSM’s public-private partnership with WFP, in place since 2007, has contributed to improving the diets of people, using essential vitamins, nutrients and fortified rice, in countries that include Nepal, Kenya, Bangladesh and Afghanistan. The strengthened partnership will focus on pregnant and nursing women, young children and vulnerable households.

DSM Press Release
Hunger in the news
23 January 2013

Reduce food waste dramatically with simple acts, says UN

Small but simple actions by consumers and food retailers could dramatically cut the 1.3bn tonnes of food lost or wasted across the world each year, according to an unprecedented global campaign launched on Tuesday. Requesting smaller portions at restaurants, freezing leftovers and donating to food banks can help make a difference, says the UN-led Think, Eat, Save: Reduce Your Foodprint campaign, while retailers and supermarkets should be carrying out audits and working more closely with their suppliers to reduce waste.
The Guardian
Hunger in the news
23 January 2013

Mozambique 'to evacuate thousands' because of flooding

Mozambique has started to evacuate some 55,000 people after heavy rains caused sea levels to rise to dangerous levels in parts of the country, officials say. (..) The town of Chokwe, home to a dyke, is particularly vulnerable, she added. There are fears that the dyke in Chokwe could break, which would lead to chaos in the evacuations. "If that dyke breaks, all those people will have to move more rapidly," the country chief of the World Food Programme, Lola Castro, said.
BBC News
Hunger in the news
23 January 2013

Civil War Ravages Syrian Farm Sector-U.N.

Ongoing conflict in Syria has left its agricultural sector in tatters, causing wheat and barley output to slump by half and wreaking massive destruction on farm infrastructure, the United Nations' food agency said on Wednesday. (..) The mission, coordinated with both the Syrian government and the opposition, also found the conflict was causing major destruction of infrastructure and irrigation systems and farmers were struggling to fully harvest crops due to insecurity and lack of fuel.
The New York Times / Reuters
Hunger in the news
23 January 2013

Syrian refugees overwhelm Lebanon, region

Lebanon, Jordan, Turkey and, to a lesser degree, Iraq, all of them neighbors of the calamity unfolding in Syria, which is bleeding lives at the rate of more than 100 a day and refugees in excess of 100,000 a month. (..) Most can expect little in the way of assistance because the international community has yet to respond to the reality that the most violent and intractable of the Arab Spring revolts also is spawning a humanitarian catastrophe. A U.N. appeal last month for a record $1.5 billion to aid needy Syrians inside and outside the country has drawn few pledges. (..) Refugees in Lebanon are left largely to fend for themselves, finding whatever shelter they can and relying on the generosity of local communities.

The Washington Post
Hunger in the news
23 January 2013

Despite trickle in funding flow, UN boosts Syria refugee assistance

The United Nations refugee agency said today it is expanding humanitarian efforts to keep apace with the growing numbers of civilians fleeing the Syrian conflict and crossing into neighbouring countries, while warning that a lack of funding risked jeopardizing future assistance. (..) The number of Syrians fleeing the continuing conflict experienced a surge, adding to the growing burden placed on refugee camp facilities.
UN News Centre
Hunger in the news
22 January 2013

Women and girls 'hit the hardest by world recession'

Women and girls were hit the hardest by the global recession, according to child rights and development organisations. "The world is failing girls and women," a report by Plan International and the Overseas Development Institute said. A shrinking economy sent girls' infant mortality soaring, and more females were abused or starved, they said.
BBC News
Hunger in the news
22 January 2013

UN chief hopes for new climate change agreement and end to war in Syria in 2013

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon says his top hopes for 2013 are to reach a new agreement on climate change and to urgently end the increasingly deadly and divisive war in Syria. The U.N. chief told The Associated Press that he’s also hoping for progress in (..) promoting political solutions in Mali, Congo and the Central African Republic, and providing energy, food and water to all people. Ban laid out this ambitious wish list in an interview before heading to the World Economic Forum in Davos this week, saying he plans to take “the uncommon opportunity” of being with some 2,500 government, business and civil society leaders in the Swiss ski resort to exchange views on these issues.
The Washington Post / AP
Hunger in the news
21 January 2013

Mali is about to have a refugee crisis

After the French military entered Mali to try to drive out the Islamists, there’s been an uptick in the number of people crossing into neighboring countries – almost 1,500 have crossed into Niger, Mauritania and Burkina Faso since last week, according to the UN Refugee Agency. (..) Meanwhile, the UN’s World Food Program said on Friday that its distribution of food aid in northern Mali was still suspended because of a lack of security, and many Malians in the south are housing several other families who have fled the conflict in the north.
The Washington Post

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