10 facts about women and hunger and the crucial role they play in defeating hunger. Celebrate International Women’s Day on Friday, March 6th! What will you be doing to celebrate?
Although many good projects in agricultural development make one hopeful for the future in Malawi, the country does still have some emergency situations that need attention. Dry spells and prolonged drought have created serious food shortages in some areas of the country. In coordination with the Government of Malawi, other UN agencies, and NGOS, the World Food Program (WFP) is providing emergency assistance to almost two million people in the country.. Of course children are at highest risk, and need special help. In the photos you can see a Food Distribution Center at Salima, and a Community based Management for Acute Malnutrition project at Mangochi Hospital where malnourished children are checked-in, weighed, assessed and provided with the necessary care and supplemental feeding.
The school uniforms are similar to the ones worn by kids in Tanzania, but this pilot School Feeding program at the Ching’Ombe school in Malawi is different. It is particularly effective because it not only draws children to attend school with the promise of a meal, it also provides incomes to local farmers. Instead of providing the school with food, the Malawi Ministry of Education and the WFP give the school funds with which to buy their food from local farmers. The schools sign contracts with the local farmers’ organizations to supply specific quantities of fresh food, and they design a nutritious school menu according to what produce is availble. This reduces transportations and makes for fresher, tastier meals, as we were able to attest –the lunch of rice, vegetables and even meat looked really tasty, with a fresh mango for dessert. After just two weeks the head teacher at Ching’Ombe school reported a 10% increase in attendance as the children enjoyed the fresh meals. The farmers say they are “interested in selling good vegetables and are glad that we can sell them to the school and our kids will eat them.”
A readout of Ambassador David Lane’s recent trip to Tanzania.
What’s the biggest single risk to global health? See the World Food Program’s visually compelling 2012 Hunger Map
In this video, narrator Matt Damon discusses efforts to turn the tide against global hunger and increase agricultural production around the world. The video was shown at the “Feed the Future: Partnering With Civil Society” event, held in New York on September 27, 2012. Feed the Future is the U.S. global hunger and food security initiative; learn more athttp://www.feedthefuture.gov. [Go to http://www.state.gov/video for more video and text transcript.]
Hungry Planet Video: Espisode 18
In this episode: emergency support helps build farmers’ resilience against the growing food crisis in the Sahel; thousands of Syrian refugees search for safety and shelter in the impoverished Beqaa Valley in Lebanon; and a system to filter and reuse grey water for irrigation could change millions of lives in Brazil.
A photo of a Millennium Development Goals Postcard from our US Mission to the UN in Geneva.
Making Progress in the Fight Against Hunger: World Food Day 2011
About the Author: Jonathan Shrier serves as Special Representative for Global Food Security (Acting), and Ertharin Cousin serves as U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Agencies for Food and Agriculture.
(October 16): Today, World Food Day, reminds us that hunger is a reality for nearly a billion people worldwide. Rising and volatile food prices since last year have pushed tens of millions of additional people into the ranks of the hungry.
This is a particularly poignant day as we have just returned from the Horn of Africa, where there more than 13 million people are in need of emergency humanitarian assistance. In Somalia, a lack of effective governance and the actions of the al-Shabaab terrorist group in preventing humanitarian aid from reaching those in need have turned a bad drought into outright famine.
We traveled to Ethiopia and Kenya with USAID Administrator Raj Shah, where we met with our partners in the region, including government officials, civil society, and private sector representatives, to discuss improving food security over the short, medium, and… more »
About the Author: Dr. Rajiv Shah serves as Administrator of the U.S. Agency for International Development.
As many of you know, the worst drought in 60 years has devastated communities throughout the Horn of Africa, leaving more than 13 million people in a state of crisis — greater…
![Screenshot of the USAID Ad Council FWD Campaign on the crisis in the Horn of Africa. The image text reads: Fact -- In Somalia, One Child Dies Every Six Minutes. Text GIVE to 777444 to donate $10. [USAID Image]](http://blogs.state.gov/images/Dipnote/behind_the_scenes/2011_0919_fwd_usaid_m.jpg)
