Gaza: U.N. Agency Stops Its Imports

The United Nations agency that distributes food to a majority of Gaza’s refugees said Friday that it was suspending imports of goods because Hamas, the militant group that controls Gaza, had twice stolen aid from it. The agency said that it would not import any more until the stolen goods were returned and assurances were given that the theft would not recur.

Zimbabwe's children suffer as schools stay closed

On a recent school day morning, Florence Marembo was all dressed up with nowhere to study: The 12-year-old instead played with a dozen other students on the grounds of her school in a suburb of Zimbabwe's capital. Her teachers at Gwinyiro Primary School said they wouldn't work until the government pays them in foreign currency because they can't even afford the bus fare amid the country's economic meltdown. [...] The swift decline of an education system that once was the pride of the region has matched the general unraveling of Zimbabwe's economy and infrastructure as President Robert Mugabe clings to the power he has held for 28 years. Aid groups warn the closures also mean that hundreds of thousands of children will go hungry unless the schools open because it's the only place many children can get a proper meal. [...] The U.N. World Food Program has increased its estimate of the number of Zimbabweans in need of emergency food aid from 5 million to 7 million. Zimbabwe's population was set at 12 million in a 2002 census, but more than a quarter of the population has fled the country's political and economic crisis since then.

Japanese envoy visits conflict-torn Mindanao, pledges assistance

Japanese Ambassador to the Philippines Makoto Katsura today visited Filipino evacuees displaced by a chronic state of conflicts in Muslim Mindanao and pledged assistance valued at around $9 million. "On behalf of the government and people of Japan, I would like to express our deepest sympathy to the families who were displaced by the armed conflict here," Katsura told evacuees at a simple ceremony. [...] The Japanese Embassy in Manila announced that Japan will provide 860 million yen (about $9.7 million) in emergency food aid through the United Nations World Food Program (WFP) to the displaced Filipinos in Mindanao. The aid in the form of 7,500 metric tons of rice is part of Japan's peace-building efforts in Mindanao, the embassy said.

WFP warns of severe food insecurity in Nepal

The World Food Program (WFP) has said that there is an indication of poor to moderate winter crop yield in some parts of the Mid/Far-Western hills and mountains due to insufficient rainfall, according to media sources. A report released by the WFP stated, “If no rain occurs in February, production could considerably decrease, further deteriorating the food security situation from June onwards,” Over 26,000 people are highly food insecure in Dolpa, Jumla and Mugu districts where cases of acute child malnutrition have been reported.