UN says $81 million urgently needed for food relief to 3.5 million Syrians

The United Nations food relief agency today said it urgently needs $81 million to assist 2.5 hungry people inside Syria and one million refugees in neighbouring countries until June, and warned that without funding it would have to stop many of its current aid programmes. “Lack of funding would mean that WFP could resort to decreasing the number of people it currently supports and would halt plans to expand and increase the number of people it plans to feed, depriving hundreds of thousands of vulnerable people in need of urgently needed food assistance,” the spokesperson for the World Food Programme (WFP) Elisabeth Byrs said in Geneva. “With very limited alternatives to support themselves, this means refugees will face destitution or could resort to buying on credit adding a burden on their host communities,” she added.

Jordan Opens Second Camp for Syria Refugees

Jordan opened a second camp for Syrian refugees on Wednesday after the United Nations said the number seeking shelter in the kingdom is expected to triple by the end of the year. (..) The 13,000-acre (5,200-hectare) camp, some 80 kilometers (50 miles) northeast of Amman, has 750 caravans, a hospital and a school and can take up to 5,500 people.

Movies, fashion and food: Halle Berry joins Michael Kors to fight hunger

Hollywood movies and high-fashion runways may seem a world away from a discussion about feeding the hungry, but Oscar-winning actress Halle Berry is joining designer Michael Kors in his work with the United Nations World Food Programme to fight hunger. (..) In an interview with CNN's Alina Cho, the pregnant actress said that being a mother inspired her to act on behalf of hungry children because hunger often starts in the womb. (..) The World Food Programme is considered the United Nations' front-line agency in the fight against hunger. It brings food to more than 90 million people in more than 75 countries.

Drought and tropical storms hinder food supply in Haiti, UN says

A growing number of people in Haiti do not have enough to eat, according to the United Nations relief wing, mostly as a result of drought and the impact of recent tropical storms. “The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said today that some 1.5 million people continue to have severe food insecurity in Haiti, mostly as a result of drought and the impact of Hurricanes Isaac and Sandy,” UN spokesperson Eduardo del Buey told journalists today in New York. (..) Malnutrition rates in some areas of Haiti have risen since October of last year and food shortages are affecting 7 of the 10 departments in the country, according to information from OCHA. Nearly 82,000 children under 5 years of age are malnourished.