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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
7 December 2012

Farmers are the ones ploughing money into agriculture

New data compiled for the Food and Agriculture Organisation's State of Food and Agriculture report, published on Thursday, shows that farmers are, by far, the greatest source of investment in agriculture. (..) Farmers' investment decisions are directly influenced by the investment climate in which they operate. In other words, the crucial factor in stimulating agricultural investment is not the size of government investments – although these need to grow too – but whether, and to what extent, developing country governments can provide adequate conditions for farmers to invest.
The Guardian
Hunger in the news
7 December 2012

Food shortages in Syria send prices soaring, compounding hunger problem

The United Nations’ World Food Program warned this week that the escalating violence in Syria is causing food shortages throughout the country. Factories have been bombed. Roads and farm fields are pockmarked with deep craters left by missiles. (..) Some of the most acute food shortages are in northern Syria, where fighting has been intense since the summer.
The Washington Post
Fight Against HIV/AIDS
7 December 2012

A Hard Act to Follow

For ten years, I played Nandipha Sithole, an HIV-positive character on Isindingo, one of South Africa's most loved television dramas. (..) Nandipha's character became iconic! Her story was traumatic, but also hopeful: raped and infected with HIV by her abusive husband, Nandipha ran away to a new life, eventually becoming an HIV activist and a role model to others. (..) I have been fortunate to act as a National Ambassador Against Hunger for the U.N. World Food Programme (WFP), the world's largest hunger-fighting humanitarian agency. As an Ambassador, I tell people about WFP's life-saving support to people affected by the crippling cycle of HIV, poverty, and hunger.

Huffington Post
Hunger in the news
7 December 2012

A million may be hungry in Syria as winter bites: WFP

Worsening security in Syria means aid groups are unable to reach a million people who may be going hungry as winter closes in, the head of the World Food Programme (WFP) said on Thursday. The United Nations said this week it would suspend aid operations in Syria as a 20-month civil war tips the country further into anarchy and more civilians get caught in the violence. But Ertharin Cousin of the WFP said only non-essential U.N. administrative staff had pulled out. Her U.N. agency would continue its work for now and "will keep as many staff in Syria as we can for as long as we can".
Reuters
Climate Change
4 December 2012

Climate change compensation emerges as major issue at Doha talks

Whether rich countries should compensate vulnerable communities like those on Kosrae, in the central Pacific, for the "loss and damage" caused by events linked to climate change has emerged as a major new issue for developing countries in the UN talks that have just entered their second week in Doha. The concept is new for both science and policy, say observers. In the past, the debate was about how poorer countries could adapt their economies to climate change and reduce, or mitigate, their emissions with assistance from rich countries.
The Guardian
Hunger in the news
4 December 2012

Iraq: joint UN report finds that food insecurity decreased significantly over past five years

The Food Security, Living Conditions and Social Transfers in Iraq report, jointly conducted by the Government of Iraq and the UN World Food Programme (WFP), shows that 2.2 million Iraqis were facing food insecurity in 2007, compared to 1.9 million in 2011, representing a 7.1 per cent fall. (..) “The Public Distribution System, which was established over two decades ago to help the Iraqi population avoid widespread hunger in the aftermath of war and subsequent sanctions, continues its role as a safety net against hunger, providing crucial support to millions of poor and vulnerable Iraqis today,” said WFP’s Representative and Country Director, Edward Kallon.
UN News Centre
Hunger in the news
3 December 2012

Over 3.5 million people in drought-hit areas of Africa to receive food relief from UN

The United Nations food relief agency today announced it is scaling up its efforts to assist more than 3.5 million people in drought-hit areas of southern Africa, particularly in Malawi, Zimbabwe and Lesotho, who are now facing the start of the hunger season. “Large numbers of smallholder farmers and their families are in the grip of what is set to be one of the harshest hunger seasons of recent years,” said the World Food Programme’s (WFP) Deputy Regional Director for Southern Africa, Brenda Barton.
UN News Centre
Hunger in the news
27 November 2012

WFP Provides Emergency Rations to Congo Refugees After Violence

The World Food Programme provided emergency food rations to about 81,000 displaced people in and near the city of Goma in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, after fighting in the region prompted residents to flee. (..) A “precarious security situation” may make it difficult to reach people needing aid beyond Goma, according to the WFP.
Bloomberg Businessweek
Climate Change
26 November 2012

Qatar's capital Doha set to host UN climate talks

Some 17,000 participants are due to attend the latest round of UN climate talks later in Qatar's capital, Doha. Over the next two weeks they will be negotiating a new global deal on climate, but there are ongoing tensions between rich and poor countries.
BBC News
Hunger in the news
26 November 2012

Cold Ravages Syria Refugees as Aid Falters

Hundreds of thousands of Syrians displaced by the war, many of them stumbling out of Syria during the summer wearing little more than T-shirts and flip-flops, now face the onslaught of winter with inadequate shelter, senior government officials and aid organizations say. (..) With temperatures already plunging to zero overnight in the hills framing this valley, the humanitarian crisis facing millions of displaced Syrians is deepening. (..) Some 2.5 million people need humanitarian assistance, and the number keeps climbing.
The New York Times