WFP | United Nations World Food Programme - Fighting Hunger Worldwide



WFP Distributes Food to 100,000 People in Response to Floods in Guatemala (Sep 8)
"We are just at the beginning of September. There are still two months of rain remaining and rains have not stopped. The accumulation of all these previous problems, in addition to the continuous rains, will increase the gravity of impact of any event," said Willem van Milink, WFP Representative in Guatemala. In response to the recent floods, WFP and its government counterparts began immediate food distributions to 7,800 families, mostly women and children, in the departments of Petén, Retalhuleu, and Escuintla. Food is also being distributed to 10,000 families who have at least one child suffering from acute malnutrition in all the country's departments.


Online brainteaser helps send rice to Pakistan (Sep 8)
Help for millions affected by the recent floods in Pakistan may be coming from an unusual source: an online vocabulary game that feeds the hungry. 9..) "It's a stellar example of how a fun and simple idea can harness the power of the internet's potential to contribute to the world's most pressing global issue - hunger," said Nancy Roman, WFP's Director of Communications.


Free rice game gets social boost (Sep 8)
An online game reminiscent of quiz show Call My Bluff is getting a facelift in order to provide rice to the hungry. Launched in 2007, Freerice.com challenges people to find the correct meaning of a word from four alternatives.


UN salutes Cape Verde’s full ownership of free school meals programme (Sep 8)
Cape Verde’s Government took full ownership of its free meals programme for schoolchildren today after more than three decades of collaboration with the World Food Programme (WFP), with the United Nations agency voicing hope that it will set an example for other developing countries to follow. (..)“The leadership and commitment by the Cape Verdean Government to the future of hungry children is exemplary, a success story we can all be proud of and one we’d like to replicate around the world,” said the agency’s Executive Director Josette Sheeran today at a celebration in Rome marking the transition.


WFP Boosts Sales of Food Produced by Smallholder Farms in Ethiopia (Sep 8)
Purchase for Progress is changing the way smallholder farmers do business in Ethiopia.


Pakistan Op In Full Swing, Says Telecoms Team Leader (Sep 8)
Six weeks after arriving in flood-stricken Pakistan, the head of WFP’s crack IT unit, Dane Novarlic, says telecoms are up and running smoothly. But damaged roads, security concerns and constantly changing conditions are keeping his team on their toes as the operation continues.


Cape Verde Takes Key Step Towards Defeating Hunger (Sep 7)
The small Atlantic nation of Cape Verde took a major step towards defeating hunger on Tuesday as its government officially took full responsibility for the national school meals programme – a key plank in the country’s strategy for fighting poverty.


Let the games begin, new FreeRice now available (Sep 7)
Computer games are easy to get hooked on. But if you spend too much time playing.....you can become a little bit unproductive. Or maybe not. With FreeRice.com, you have a vocabulary game that actually feeds the hungry. You take on vocabulary questions and for every correct answer, you earn ten grains of rice.


Floods displace thousands in Ethiopia (Sep 7)
Floodwaters have displaced nearly 16 000 people in north-eastern Ethiopia, the UN said on Monday, weeks after thousands of others were affected in the country's central region. (..) Ethiopia, home to over 80-million, is regularly hit by floods. According to the World Food Programme, more than 183 000 people were affected in 2007.


Hunger-Fighting Word Game FreeRice Is Now Social! (Sep 7)
The viral word game that builds vocabulary while feeding the hungry has had a major upgrade that’s made it even more addictive than before. Players of the new version will be able to compete with friends, tout their scores on Facebook and play on the go by mobile phone – all while fighting hunger. Check it out!


School Meals in Cape Verde: a National Success Story (Sep 7)
ROME – After more than 30 years of collaboration with the World Food Programme (WFP), the Government of Cape Verde has today taken full ownership of its national school meals programme, setting an example for many other developing countries to follow.


FreeRice 2.0: Feeding Minds While Feeding the Hungry (Sep 7)
ROME – Does the word arundinaceous mean long and thin or someone who talks too much? Is an aleconner a beer-taster or a kind of bird? Does scunner mean deep dislike or something you’d find on a boat?


Food Crisis Worsens in Central Africa (Sep 6)
Torrential rains and flash floods that swept through cities and villages in Central Africa in late August have intensified a food crisis in the region, leaving upwards of 10 million people suffering from severe food shortages, the United Nations and relief organizations warned last week. (..) In early August, a shortfall of international aid forced the United Nations World Food Program to suspend food aid to families with children over the age of 2 in Niger.


Syria droughts devastate crops, livestock: UN (Sep 6)
Four our consecutive droughts since 2006 have triggered "significant losses" of crops and livestock in Syria, mostly in the northeast of the country, a UN official said on Tuesday. (..) In June, the World Food Programme started delivering food aid to nearly 200,000 people in those three provinces in the second such initiative since the United Nations launched a plan last year to combat the effects of the drought. "The situation is really bad" in northeast Syria, WFP official Selly Muzammil said in June.


UN agencies launch appeal to assist flood victims in Burkina Faso (Sep 6)
United Nations aid agencies and their partners today launched an appeal for more than $14 million to help the victims of flooding in Burkina Faso rebuild their homes and livelihoods over the next six month. (..) The UN Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) has already allocated $2 million to aid agencies operating in Burkina Faso to help them deal with the aftermath of the floods. Those funds will go to the World Food Programme (WFP), the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF), the World Health Organization (WHO) and the UN Population Fund (UNFPA).


Young Pakistan Flood Victims Look To Future (Sep 6)
Punjab, one of the heaviest populated regions in Pakistan, was among the hardest hit by the floods. After losing their homes in the disaster, three families are now living together in an old school house. One of the kids in the group is Shanza, who has clear ideas about her future.


Rain boost food security in South Sudan (Sep 6)
Food security in many parts of Southern Sudan is set to improve after good rains, according to recent crop and precipitation assessments. Some 2.4 million people in Southern Sudan received aid from the UN World Food Programme in June, during the lean season between harvests.


Pakistan’s wheat land is still secure: WFP (Sep 6)
The World Food Programme (WFP) is aiming to provide food rations to last a month to six million people and assess upcoming challenges before launching a new appeal by mid September, says WFP’s country director for Pakistan, Wolfgang Herbinger. The agency is also in the process of enriching its food basket, adding yellow peas, salt, tea and sugar to it. Herbinger says that while crops have suffered a lot of damage, “wheat land is still secure. The country still has enough wheat, which is the ingredient for high energy biscuits and baby food.”


Heed Warnings on Pakistan Relief Effort (Sep 5)
The UN World Food Programme (WFP) is still short of funding for its relief operation in flood-ravaged Pakistan. The latest situation report shows about a $58 million shortfall. The real danger is a pipeline break in supplies that could prove deadly, particularly for small children. Dangerous malnutrition can take hold very quickly on the most vulnerable of Pakistani society.


Managing risk cheaper and more efficient than reacting to disaster (Sep 5)
A decisive solution to food security is within our reach. The promise of Africa has never been more compelling. Credible numbers showing robust, sustained economic growth and more confident voices speaking authoritatively of a brighter future are gaining prominence. (..) The most encouraging recent development in this respect has been the development of the Africa RiskView by the World Food Programme.