The United Nations’ (UN) World Food Programme (WFP) set a record in 2003 by providing 110-million people with food aid, the highest in its 40-year history and up from the 72-million people it fed in 2002.
The most recent place to receive WFP aid was Iran, which was hit by an earthquake on Friday, the organisation said in a statement on Wednesday.
In Iraq, WFP carried out its largest humanitarian aid operation ever despite enormous obstacles. At the same time, WFP helped to feed some 40-million people across Africa.
“We are proud of our achievement in feeding so many of those in need, but we are acutely aware that they represent only a limited proportion of the world’s hungry,” said WFP Executive Director James Morris.
The number of hungry has increased to almost 800-million people after decreasing in the early 1990s, according to a recent report by the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organisation.
Contributions during 2003 largely met the WFP’s annual budget of $4,3-billion with Russia and India making their first donations.
Despite record contributions, there have been significant funding shortfalls at some WFP operations.
A lack of funding saw the WFP reduce rations to 300 000 people struck by drought in Eritrea and to needy people in southern Africa.
In Asia, 2,2-million North Koreans will be deprived of WFP cereal rations this month, a number that is expected to rise to 3,8-million early in 2004 unless fresh funding is received.
The challenges ahead for WFP are often sparked off by political uncertainty, such as in Afghanistan, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Ivory Coast and Zimbabwe.
During the year, the WFP came to the conclusion that HIV/Aids is both a major cause of hunger but that hunger accelerates the spread of the disease.
With the experience of the food crisis in southern Africa, WFP is even more committed to incorporating HIV/AIDS prevention and mitigation into all its emergency programmes. ‒ I-Net Bridge