FNs Fødevareprogram (WFP) meddelte onsdag, at det udvider sine hjælpeprogrammer med 6 milliarder kr. i fødevarehjælp til de mange millioner mennesker i 62 lande, som er hårdest ramt af den globale fødevarekrise, skriver WFPs repræsentation i Danmark i en pressemelding.
– Med stigende fødevarepriser og oliepriser er sulten på march fremad og vi må reagere nu, sagde Josette Sheeran, direktør for WFP, til de hundreder af delegerede ved Fødevaretopmødet i Rom.
– Hvis vi ikke reagerer hurtigt vil den fattigste milliard af verdens befolkning blive til 2 milliarder på ingen tid, fordi deres købekraft er blevet halveret som følge af de høje priser på mad og olie, sagde Sheeran, som leder en organisation, der giver mad til 90 millioner i 78 lande i 2008.
Sheeran sagde at WFP vil “gyde olie på vandene” ved at 3-doble antallet af mennesker, der får mad i Haiti, fordoble antallet i Afghanistan og fordele endnu mere mad i Somalia, Etiopien og Kenya.
– Vi har mobiliseret vores 10.000 ansatte og vil gøre brug af hver eneste dollar eller euro, der bliver doneret til os, for at nå så mange sultende, vi overhovedet kan, sagde Sheeran.
Sheeran understregede, at det internationale samfund har skabt udvikling gennem de sidste fyrre år ved at nedskære antallet af sultende fra 37 til 17 procent i 2002. Men advarede samtidig om, at denne positive tendens trues alvorligt af de stigende fødevarepriser.
62 lande, som er særlig hårdt ramt af den globale fødevarekrise, vil modtage samlet 6 milliarder kr. ekstra for at bekæmpe den stigende sult. Hjælpen gives på flere måder; fra støtte til mennesker, der er ramt af naturkatastrofer til skolemadprogrammer for de hårdest ramte: børnene.
Landeeksempler:
Haiti: A country where civil unrest has raged is being fast-tracked by WFP which is tripling the number of people receiving food, especially school children and 100.000 mothers and young children. Just over the last two days, 100.000 poor women – heads of households – have started receiving food (23 million dollar is being rolled out).
Liberia: WFP is scaling up school feeding for 200.000 primary aged children and, along with the World Bank, is exploring the use of cash and food for job programmes targeting urban areas (15 million dollar).
Afghanistan: Amid widespread conflict and insecurity, alongside severe destitution, food assistance is being rapidly expanded to 2,5 million additional people – almost half are urban dwellers priced out of the wheat market (73 million dollar in additional funds).
Kenya: After post election violence tore whole communities apart, WFP is maintaining commitments to support people who, in addition to high food prices, are affected by drought and unrest linked to food price protests. School feeding programmes that had been cut have been restored. A new operation will help displaced persons plus an increasing number of vulnerable people in arid regions (86 million dollar).
Somalia: WFP is doubling its assistance to reach more than 2,5 million people who face deepening drought in tandem with hyper-inflation and continued conflict on a scale similar to the crisis years of 1992-1993. This year high food prices is compounding the problem. (163 million dollar in food assistance will help ease their plight).
Cambodia: School feeding will be restarted in Cambodia, providing meals to 250.000 children who were cut off in May because of high food prices (5,4 million dollar).
Ethiopia: High prices and drought are sweeping through the Horn of Africa, posing a severe threat to millions of pastoralists. Urgent food distributions across the country will help stem the growing crisis (193 million dollar).
Burkina Faso: WFP is reaching 63.000 additional mothers and children with critical food assistance (6,9 million dollar)
Mozambique: WFP is targeting 7 million dollar for social safety nets for school children, mothers, infants and toddlers, and HIV/AIDS patients.
Yemen: An additional 300.000 school children are being reached with the help of the World Bank (8 million dollar).
Senegal: WFP is providing meals in school for 284.000 children during the lean season (16 million dollar).
Burundi: WFP will expand food distributions and extend school feeding programmes into urban areas; will establish food-for-work projects to improve livelihoods of former refugees (12 million dollar)
Central African Republic: A food safety net is being rolled out for 294.000 people (including conflict victims) made more vulnerable due to the high prices during the lean season (12 million dollar).
Sierra Leone: More than 200.000 children are being supported with a hot school meal plus another 200.000 people – including urban youth – receive food (8,9 million dollar).
Sheeran said more such action is needed to help individuals, families and communities hold the line against hunger, and to create space for UN partners and others to work on medium and longer term solutions to boost agricultural production.
Selected quotes from Sheerans address to delegates:
“We can defeat hunger. We can achieve global – and local – food security. The world knows how to do this.”
“High food and fuel prices now threaten to short-circuit this potential and undue many of these hard earned gains. Only by pulling together in the spirit of global interdependence, can we respond strategically to this challenge”.
“This challenge is our collective challenge – global, not unique to one or two countries, but felt by nations and institutions worldwide”.
“Here is our opportunity – and our human dilemma. We simply cannot solve this challenge divided. The situation we face presents an opportunity for the global community to demonstrate concerted leadership as never before”.
“In meeting the challenges, what we need is goodwill and good people. Today I am reassured the global community has both of these in abundance. Let today mark the moment of hope, momentum and global action”.
Yderligere oplysninger hos Mikael Bjerrum, direktør for WFPs Nordiske Kontor, E-mail: [email protected], Tlf.: 35 46 71 30, Mobil: 40 11 38 83
