World Food Day Celebrated With An 'Alliance Against Hunger'

American Red Cross
Thursday, 16 October 2003

The American Red Cross and Other Concerned Organizations Ban Together to Fight Malnutrition Worldwide

Today the American Red Cross celebrates World Food Day by joining the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and other humanitarian organizations to address the struggle of millions suffering from chronic malnourishment. This year's theme is a commitment of banding concerned organizations and individuals together to form the International Alliance against Hunger. This alliance will combine global resources to aid in feeding 12 billion worldwide. At the American Red Cross national headquarters in Washington, DC, international food aid exhibits from some of these allies include developmental food programming, agricultural recovery plans and emergency food aid.

Every eight seconds a child somewhere in the world dies of hunger related causes. Almost one billion people wake up each morning, uncertain of where their next meal will come from, but the American Red Cross is working to restore hope to the world's hungry. Since 1999, the Red Cross has helped feed more than 4.3 million people in 19 different countries, including Ethiopia, Malawi, Colombia, Vietnam, Bulgaria, Uzbekistan and many more.

"World Food Day raises awareness about the plight of people around the world who live in a constant state of hunger," said Mark Smith, manager of Global Food Programs for the American Red Cross. "So few of us really have any idea of what hunger really is. The Red Cross distributes about 50,000 pounds of food a day, but these programs are not just about giving people a meal, it's about making their lives better."

Since food assistance programs have been recognized as one of the most effective deterrents against absolute poverty, operations aim to make communities "food secure" so they can devote time, attention and work to escaping the poverty trap. With this in mind, the American Red Cross designs its food programs in a holistic manner, integrating the delivery of food with education and training in nutrition, health and water and sanitation interventions.

The Red Cross also utilizes a variety of food programs that suit regional, cultural and socio-economic differences because the needs and situations of people worldwide vary. Soup kitchens are often set up in areas devastated by conflict where massive dislocation occurs, while food supplements are targeted for specific groups like pregnant women and malnourished children. Food-for-Work projects and agricultural recovery initiatives directly involve food program beneficiaries in revitalizing and improving their communities.

With nearly $10 million in monetary and in-kind donations just in recent months, the Red Cross is continuing to partner with organizations like the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the World Food Program in innovative endeavors to reach the world's hungry.

In Vietnam, the Red Cross recently launched an effort to provide 50,000 daily rations to primary school children, while also giving them a "take home" ration for younger siblings not of school age and pregnant mothers. The program will provide school and community-based health, nutrition and sanitation education. This unique program, though, is only one of many which make the Red Cross an integral part of the Alliance against Hunger.

"The 'International Alliance against Hunger' gives us a way to move forward together," said Dr. Jacques Diouf, Director-General of the FAO. "It will help us to reduce poverty and to guarantee the most basic of human rights - to be free from hunger."

For more information, or to contact American Red Cross, see their website at: www.redcross.org