Food emergency looms in war torn Sudan

Humanitarian response inadequate in Horn of Africa crisis

The article focuses on the results of a new analysis conducted by the World Bank, according to which the COVID-19 pandemic threatens not only economic development, but also the achievements of the last decade in the fields of health and education, environmental protection. Examples of slowing down economic activity through the introduction of quarantine and reducing the anthropogenic impact on the environment are given. Crises such as epidemics and economic downturns usually divert attention from global environmental issues. The authors of the article argue that in the future, advocates of sustainable environmental development, renewable energy and conscious consumption will need to make even greater efforts to prevent society from rolling back to dirty technologies, and for funding and public support they will need to demonstrate how the same Climate change corresponds to today's problems. It has been proven that the slowdown in economic activity due to the epidemic is a serious challenge to the environment, on the one hand, and opportunities – on the other. After a recession and reduced emissions, there is usually a rapid increase. States are investing heavily in large-scale production and infrastructure projects to quickly create jobs and emerge from the crisis. It is now extremely important that these investments take place on the principles of sustainable development. It is impossible to allow the construction of new coal-fired CHPs, disposable plastic plants, and the development of new oil fields. Also in this article, the authors analyze two key aspects of the impact of COVID-19 on the economy, environment and society: geospatial aspects of food security and the accumulation of problems in the field of medical waste. The importance of the former is recognized at the highest level, and the ideologue of its solution – the UN World Food Program – became the 2020 Nobel Laureate. At the same time, the main environmental commandment "reuse, recycle, reduce" in a pandemic does not work. Everyone buys medical masks, although their effectiveness has been proven to protect healthy people from the virus for a short period of time (masks should be changed every two hours and worn if you are near an infected person or have symptoms of the virus yourself). It is already known that South Korea, followed by the EU, is developing a plan of green economic incentives to overcome the crisis. The UN is urging other countries to make sure their post-crisis investments are climate-friendly. Ukraine should follow suit, creating environmental and economic recovery plans now. In particular, it is important to support green business and reorient dirty production, as well as look for optimal ways to handle medical waste.

Development Policy ReviewVolume 28, Issue 4 p. 503-507 Powerhouse of Ideas: The United Nations Intellectual History Project D. J. Shaw, D. J. Shaw Former economic adviser and chief, Policy Affairs Service, UN World Food Programme and consultant to FAO, the World Bank and the Commonwealth Secretariat (djohnshawuk@aol.com).Search for more papers by this author D. J. Shaw, D. J. Shaw Former economic adviser and chief, Policy Affairs Service, UN World Food Programme and consultant to FAO, the World Bank and the Commonwealth Secretariat (djohnshawuk@aol.com).Search for more papers by this author First published: 01 June 2010 https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-7679.2010.00494.xAboutPDF ToolsRequest permissionExport citationAdd to favoritesTrack citation ShareShare Give accessShare full text accessShare full-text accessPlease review our Terms and Conditions of Use and check box below to share full-text version of article.I have read and accept the Wiley Online Library Terms and Conditions of UseShareable LinkUse the link below to share a full-text version of this article with your friends and colleagues. Learn more.Copy URL Share a linkShare onFacebookTwitterLinked InRedditWechat Volume28, Issue4July 2010Pages 503-507 RelatedInformation

Piracy attacks off the Somali coast pose a threat to international maritime trade and to the UN World Food Programme (WFP). In addressing Somali piracy, the European Union (EU) is one of the leading actors. This chapter looks at the interests and initiatives taken by both the European Union and the shipping industry, how these relate to each other, and what can be done for both sides to strengthen their joint approach to deal with the piracy threat. It outlines what is at stake from a European strategic point of view and from a business point of view, thereby providing insights into the following topics: the EU's interests and initiatives; the interests and initiatives of the shipping industry; and the opportunities for cooperation between the EU and the industry. The chapter concludes with practical recommendations to both parties. Keywords: European Union (EU); international maritime trade; shipping industry; Somali piracy; UN World Food Programme (WFP)

Deficiencies in micronutrients such as iron, vitamin A, and iodine affect billions of people worldwide, causing death, disease, and disability. The UN World Food Programme (WFP) has long been recognised for its ability to deliver food to some of the most remote locations, under the toughest conditions: refugees in border camps, populations cut off by conflict, extremely poor and marginalised people like ethnic minorities, orphans, and widows. Relatively little, however, is known about its efforts to ensure that the food it delivers not only provides enough calories for immediate survival but also provides the vitamins and minerals needed for healthy growth and development. Much of the food delivered by WFP is fortified with iron, vitamin A, and other micronutrients before being shipped. But there are several reasons to mill and fortify food as close to the beneficiaries as possible. For instance, milling and fortifying food locally helps to overcome the problems of the short shelf-life of whole fortified maizemeal. It also enhances the nutritional value of locally procured cereals. And it can foster demand for fortified foods among local consumers beyond WFP beneficiaries, thus nurturing an industry with potentially significant benefits for the health of entire communities. This paper outlines three approaches by WFP to fortifying cereals in Afghanistan, Angola, and Zambia. It examines the challenges faced and the outcomes achieved in an effort to share this knowledge with others dedicated to improving the nutritional status of poor and food-insecure people. In Afghanistan, attempts to mill and fortify wheat flour using small-scale chakki mills were successful but much larger-scale efforts would be needed to promote demand and reach the level of consumption required to address serious iron deficiencies across the country. In Angola, maize has been fortified to combat the persistent occurrence of pellagra, a micronutrient deficiency disease found among people whose diets are dominated by maize. By providing fortification equipment to a commercial mill at the port of Lobito and using a vitamin and mineral pre-mix provided by UNICEF, this project has overcome many of the difficulties common in countries emerging from conflict to provide monthly fortified maize rations to some 115,000 beneficiaries. In Zambia, iron deficiency anaemia was a serious problem among camp-restricted refugees. WFP and its partners imported, installed, and trained workers in the use of two containerized milling and fortification units (MFUs), halved iron-deficiency anaemia, and reduced vitamin A deficiency among camp residents. In addition, WFP dramatically reduced waiting times for refugees who used to have their whole grain maize rations milled at small local facilities with insufficient milling capacity. The context and scale of each of the three case-studies described in this paper was different, but the lessons learned are comparable. All projects were succesful in their own right, but also required a considerable amount of staff time and supervision as well as external technical expertise, limiting the potential for scaling up within the WFP operational context. In order to expand and sustain the provision of fortified cereal flour to WFP beneficiaries and beyond, getting the private milling sector as well as governments on board would be crucial. Where this is not possible, such as in very isolated, difficult to reach locations, strong, specialized partners are a prerequisite, but these are few in number. Alternatively, in such contexts or in situations where the need is urgent and cannot be met through local flour fortification in the short term, or through local purchases of fresh foods, other approaches to improve the diet, such as the use of multimicronutrient formulations, packed for individual or household use, may be more appropriate.

Being prepared for natural and complex emergencies is a top priority for the UN World Food Programme (WFP). In order to efficiently provide adequate support, WFP has a strong local presence, with more than 80 Country Offices (CO) around the world. The WFP Emergency Preparedness team, in strict cooperation with leading academic institutions and technology experts, develops innovative early warning systems and rapid impact analysis tools and products. An emergency response phase requires an extremely well-organized communication between different actors, providing information timely and in an immediately understandable and not misleading format. WFP acquires, analyzes, distributes and displays data and information, gathered either on the field or retrieved from global monitoring systems. Data retrieved from global monitoring systems are managed centrally at WFP HQ, but need to be accessible to local offices. Similarly, data acquired on the field by local staff should be available at headquarters level for further and global analysis. This organizational model requires the set-up and maintenance of an effective solution for data managing and sharing: the adoption of a common data model further improve data sharing mechanisms, data interpretation and analysis. Additionally, Standard symbology rules and automated map templates helps in enforcing a brand perception and in increasing output quality, timeliness and readability.

COVID-19 disaster response: an emergency food and supply distribution programme in Bahía de Caráquez, Ecuador

Hunger and Markets is the third volume of the UN World Food Programme's World Hunger Series - created to help promote a better understanding of the choices confronting leaders as they work to fight hunger. It appears at a crucial time, with food prices at high levels, a severe global financial crisis and vulnerable households around the world endangering their future health, education and productivity by reducing both the quality and the quantity of their food intake. Hunger and Markets explores the complex and multifaceted interactions between the availability of and access to food and the operations of markets. The structure and dynamics of food markets and the threats and opportunities markets generate are crucial for the access to food for billions of people. Markets are also critical in averting or mitigating food shortages and hunger by adjusting to shocks, reducing vulnerability and coping with crises. Whether markets help or harm the hungry poor is a function of markets' institutions, infrastructure and policies. This volume analyzes the workings of markets in order to identify the sources of market failures in addressing hunger and malnutrition, and to highlight the ways in which they can be improved. The report sets out the ways in which programme design and policy formulation can build on the strengths of markets to prevent possible negative effects, and will be essential reading for all those involved in the fight against world hunger. Published with World Food Programme

The United Nations World Food Program believes that providing humanitarian aid to the Democratic People's Republic of Korea is an essential responsibility for the entire global community regardless of political and economic challenges. The Republic of Korea has succeeded in eradicating hunger, so the Republic of Korea is strongly encouraged to take the first step as the World Food Program's most reliable donor to bringing peace, health, and zero hunger across the Korean peninsula.

The Nutritious Supply Chain: Optimizing Humanitarian Food Aid

In early October, 2020, the UN World Food Programme (WFP) was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. The WFP was recognized by the Nobel committee for its efforts to combat a surge in hunger as the coronav...

Who will deliver Darfur from evil?

The United Nations, aid agencies, and governments of rich countries are scaling up relief efforts to try to bring the food crisis in Niger and neighbouring areas under control. Khaled...

Yemen's hunger crisis

South Asia fails to reduce malnutrition burden