Thursday , March 28 2024
Josette Sheeran says that one third of children in developing countries have stunted growth due to hunger.

World Food Programme Director Calls for Action to End Global Hunger Crisis

Josette Sheeran, head of the UN World Food Programme, says that one third of children in developing countries have stunted growth due to hunger. She recently held a press conference in Washington urging action to fight the hunger now afflicting now over one billion people worldwide.

Sheeran says the Obama administration showed leadership in rallying the G-8 to commit $20 billion over three years to a plan to increase food production. But safety-net programs like school feeding also need to be increased now to fight the hunger crisis.

The World Food Programme is having to cut back programs like school feeding due to funding shortfalls totaling at least $3 billion.

Sheeran talked about making cuts to a school feeding program in Haiti because of lack of funding. The Haiti program had been running through the summer to help communities recovering from the 2008 food riots. Sheeran says, “it’s why we’re really putting out the alarm, because now is not the time to peel back these programs, which we’re about to have to do because of the level of funding.” Sheeran added, “I think it’s destabilizing to pull back emergency, urgent hunger programs at this extremely vulnerable time.”

At the press conference Nancy Roman, WFP's public policy director, also talked about devastating ration cuts. Roman stated that in Kenya, "we've determined to reach about 3.2 million people, mostly in rural areas. But we're having to give them significantly reduced rations… half the count really that we and others have determined that they need to be healthy."

Any program to increase food production will take some time to implement, and populations could suffer in the interim from ration cuts. The World Food Programme and a coalition of charities are seeking a comprehensive plan to tackle hunger that includes meeting emergency and interim food needs while building agricultural production.

See also my series on Ending World Hunger which profiles the school feeding needs of over 50 countries as well as key legislation such as the Roadmap to End Global Hunger.

About William Lambers

William Lambers is the author of several books including Ending World Hunger: School Lunches for Kids Around the World. This book features over 50 interviews with officials from the UN World Food Programme and other charities discussing school feeding programs that fight child hunger. He is also the author of Nuclear Weapons, The Road to Peace: From the Disarming of the Great Lakes to the Nuclear Test Ban Treaty, Open Skies for Peace, The Spirit of the Marshall Plan: Taking Action Against World Hunger, School Lunches for Kids Around the World, The Roadmap to End Global Hunger, From War to Peace and the Battle of Britain. He is also a writer for the History News Service. His articles have been published by newspapers including the Cincinnati Enquirer, Des Moines Register, the New York Times, San Francisco Chronicle, Buffalo News, San Diego Union Tribune, the Providence Journal, Free Lance-Star (VA), the Bakersfield Californian, the Washington Post, Miami Herald (FL), Chicago Sun-Times, the Patriot Ledger (MA), Charleston Sunday Gazette Mail (WV), the Cincinnati Post, Salt Lake Tribune (UT), North Adams Transcript (MA), Wichita Eagle (KS), Monterey Herald (CA), Athens Banner-Herald (GA) and the Duluth News Journal. His articles also appear on History News Network (HNN) and Think Africa Press. Mr. Lambers is a graduate of the College of Mount St. Joseph in Ohio with degrees in Liberal Arts (BA) and Organizational Leadership (MS). He is also a member of the Feeding America Blogger Council.

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