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U.N. says North Korea needs $503 million in food aid
North Korea needs $503 million in food aid between now and November 2009 to avoid famine, which could be hampered by China's unwillingness to grant food export licenses, the U.N. World Food Programme (WFP) said on Tuesday.
Tony Banbury, the WFP's regional director for Asia who has just spent a week in the reclusive country, said North Korea risked sliding back into famine if it did not get help now, with people already resorting to foraging to sustain themselves.
"We don't believe it's a famine. We are intent on making sure it doesn't turn into one. The operation will have a huge impact in preventing a worsening of the situation," he told a news conference in Beijing, referring to their new aid appeal.
North Korea, with a population of about 23 million, lost around 1 million people in a famine in the mid to late 1990s brought about by a mismanaged farm sector and floods.
Even with a good harvest, North Korea falls about 1 million tonnes, or 20 percent, short of its grain needs and relies heavily on aid from China, South Korea and United Nations agencies.
The U.N. Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) said in late March it expects North Korea to have a shortfall of about 1.66 million tonnes in cereals for the year ending in October 2008, the largest deficit in about seven years.
The WFP warned in July that North Korea was experiencing its worst levels of hunger in nearly a decade.
High global food prices are also making it harder for North Korea to buy food on the international market, as are China's restrictions on export licenses for grains and flour in order to control domestic inflation. North Korea needs $503 million in food aid between now and November 2009 to avoid famine, which could be hampered by China's unwi... more -
Food shortages warning for Nepal
The government of Nepal and the UN have warned that hundreds of thousands of people in the country are facing severe food shortages.
A new report says that efforts to get food to the most vulnerable people are being hampered by fuel shortages, strikes, and bad weather. The price of rice has risen by up to 50% in a year, and the price of cooking oil has gone up 30% in six months. Rising prices for food have hit poorer people in South Asia badly.
The new report by the government in Nepal and the UN's World Food Programme (WFP) confirms that rising food prices and destroyed harvests are hitting Nepal very hard. The WFP believes two and a half million Nepalis around the country need immediate food assistance. In certain villages it runs some feeding programmes, including monthly ones to mothers and young babies, extended in conjunction with medical check-ups by doctors.
The BBC's Charles Haviland, who visited a badly affected village in Nepal in the western district of Achham, says many families are coping by eating less, selling their meagre possessions or sending their men folk to neighbouring India to find work. In May, Nepal banned the export of rice and other grains to try to control food costs and prevent shortages. Nepal is not a major producer of food items but it exports some wheat and Basmati rice to China and Bangladesh. The government of Nepal and the UN have warned that hundreds of thousands of people in the country are facing severe food shortages. ... more -
Food Crisis: Hard Choices
There is not a food crisis in Indonesia -- at least not yet. But the rise in food prices and other basic goods is hitting the poor the hardest. More than half of Indonesia's 235 million are poor. Many make less than $2 a day. In May, economists warned that rising food prices could reserve gains made in reducing poverty made across Asia. Jonathan Jones and Anna Sussman travel to Jakarta to visit low income neighborhoods, as well as rice wholesale and retail markets, and meet with World Food Program officials to find out how Indonesians have been affected by the rise in global food prices. There is not a food crisis in Indonesia -- at least not yet. But the rise in food prices and other basic goods is hitting the poor the... more
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World Food Program Warns of Food Aid Cut
Democracy Now's Amy Goodman reports on the world food shortage. Here in the US, two major food chains, (Sam's and Costco), stoked panic this week when they announced they would ration rice sales at their supermarkets. Democracy Now's Amy Goodman reports on the world food shortage. Here in the US, two major food chains, (Sam's and Costco), ... more
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Solve Words, Get Rice
Freerice.com encourages you to expand your vocabulary and help the hungry. For every word you get right, they donate 10 grains of rice to the United Nations World Food Program. Freerice.com encourages you to expand your vocabulary and help the hungry. For every word you get right, they donate 10 grains of rice... more
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Feeding Haiti
Laura Ling travels with an armed UN convoy to deliver a precious cargo of beans and oil to women and children in Haiti.
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