Thought-provoking articles that deal with hunger and the issues involved in meeting the hunger challenge.
Last year, around 13 million people in the Horn of Africa needed food aid. Now aid agencies warn failed harvests in the Sahel, the band of desert and scrub that runs south of the Sahara, mean 12 million more people require assistance. (..) The world has more than enough food to feed itself. Redistributing it to those who lack their share is the job of large and well-funded international aid agencies, particularly the World Food Program.
The upcoming London Conference on Somalia is, potentially, a promising occasion to finally put the country on the road to peace, stability and democracy. Whether this opportunity is realised will be largely contingent upon the willingness and ability of the participants to chart a new course that takes full stock of the genuine and long term needs of the Somali people.
People are already joking it’s a good thing the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation isn’t charging admission for its new visitor center, which showcases Bill Gates’ multibillion-dollar philanthropy, not his computers. While it’s not exactly a “museum of philanthropy,” it’s also not just a public promotion of the Gates Foundation’s work. (..) “We know that there’s interest and passion for our work. We haven’t had a way to invite the public in to learn about our history, what we do and how we partner with others, and to think about what they can do,” said Martha Choe, chief administrative officer of the foundation.
Bridging the gap between emergency humanitarian aid and long-term development aid is essential to help people survive disasters and get back on the path to self-reliance and dignity (..) The shift from humanitarian to development aid requires planning. And yet the two groups often fail to co-ordinate, and effectively overlap their operations to ensure a smooth transition.
Bankers, hedge funds and sovereign wealth funds are gambling on hunger by speculating on food supply. Global regulators should step in to stop them.