The Riverman Reports - Inc. Huttz World : action against hunger

Showing posts with label action against hunger. Show all posts

Saturday, January 09, 2010

Action Against Hunger surveys along the border of Guatamala and Honduras...

CHIQUIMULA, GUATEMALA—Surveys carried out by Action Against Hunger | ACF International along the Guatemalan border with Honduras show widespread food insecurity and high levels of malnutrition in a region buffeted by the global recession and poor rainfalls. The global humanitarian group has intervened on an emergency and long-term basis, treating children with severe acute malnutrition and implementing nutrition, food security, and water and sanitation programs in the area.

The global humanitarian group announced today that 7.7 percent of children in the Corredor Seco region of Guatemala are acutely malnourished; another 2.4 percent have severe acute malnutrition, the more life-threatening form of the condition.

“Our teams on the ground have come across children deathly ill with kwashiorkor, an extreme form of malnutrition that we haven’t seen in this region for years,” said Jorge Salamanca, Action Against Hunger’s Desk Officer for Latin America.

The region is experiencing a shortage of basic staple foods due to poor harvests. According to ACF’s survey of 1,600 households, more than half of this year’s corn harvest, and 70 percent of the bean crops, have been lost due to insufficient rainfall. As a result, four out of 10 households reported decreasing the number of meals they consume daily; 90 percent of them have stopped consuming one of the basic food groups—either meat, grains or vegetables.

The global economic downturn has also increased the vulnerability of families and negatively affected their ability to cope with low crop yields. The local coffee and sugar industries, major employers in this part of Guatemala, have been affected particularly. Action Against Hunger has also noted a decrease in remittances from the United States and other parts of the world, a serious problem for households reliant on income from family members living abroad.

Action Against Hunger is tackling the problem on several fronts. The agency has launched an emergency response to treat children with the most severe cases of malnutrition and a cash-for-work program for vulnerable families. The agency will provide longer-term assistance through agro-forestry programs, well construction, and education in nutrition and improved agricultural techniques. Action Against Hunger has worked in Guatemala since 1998.

About Action Against Hunger
Action Against Hunger | ACF International is a global humanitarian organization committed to ending world hunger. Recognized as a leader in the fight against malnutrition, ACF works to save the lives of malnourished children while providing communities with sustainable access to safe water and long-term solutions to hunger. With 30 years of expertise in emergency situations of conflict, natural disaster, and chronic food insecurity, ACF runs life-saving programs in some 40 countries benefiting 5 million people each year.

Please visit site and vote on Project 7

Wednesday, September 23, 2009

Kenya: Innovative Cash Transfers Restore Hope, Dignity.
Cash-based program empowers communities displaced by conflict in Nakuru, Kenya

There is no “one size fits all” strategy for helping families and communities rebuild after a devastating crisis. Action Against Hunger’s Food Security & Livelihoods Programs uphold this principle when working to restore self-sufficiency by respecting a community’s economic and cultural character. Each community has its own unique assets, and it’s our job to work with local leaders to identify these assets and integrate them into a project’s overall design. While this painstaking commitment to community participation is essential, contexts are different, requiring new models and novel approaches.

The political instability that unfolded in Kenya in January of 2008 presented Action Against Hunger with one such set of unique challenges. Nakuru, the regional capital of Kenya’s Rift Valley Province, had been particularly affected by the post-election violence that tore through Kenya last year. With populations displaced along ethnic lines, livelihoods disrupted, and homes destroyed, communities were left adrift to fend for themselves in makeshift camps.

While most humanitarian assistance centered on the needs in the camps, a significant number of the displaced had gone undetected, having sought shelter with friends and relatives in Nakuru instead of the camps. After establishing a presence in the camps, Action Against Hunger discovered that there were unmet needs in town, where residents struggled to rebuild their homes and support their families without any access to income. Action Against Hunger saw a clear opportunity to introduce a cash-based program to meet these overlooked needs.

Read more here

Tuesday, September 01, 2009

ACTION AGAINST HUNGER

Providing innovative solutions to world hunger:

Lomuria is a 16 month-old girl from Karamoja, Uganda. Last July, her family was left destitute after their village was raided and their cattle stolen.

Her parents, Mogole Maria and Lotonkul John, themselves subsisting on one meal a day, were unable to provide Lomuria with the nutrients she needed to thrive.

On the brink of starvation, and weakened by malaria and pneumonia, Lomuria was taken to Action Against Hunger’s local Stabilization Center.

Thanks to our immediate attention, and a two week regimen of intensive treatment, she survived.

Now at home, Lomuria receives bi-weekly examinations from our Clinical Officer and supplemental ready-to-use foods to nurse her back to full health.

This is what Action Against Hunger does every day. We save the lives of children like Lomuria and provide their families with the tools they need to regain self-sufficiency for the long term.

But help is needed to reach them: webmaster@actionagainsthunger.org

Saturday, July 11, 2009

WE SUPPORT THE ACTION AGAINST HUNGER CAMPAIGN HERE AT THE KIWI RIVERMAN POST...

The world's hungry has exceeded one billion for the first time in history, according to the United Nations Food and Agricultural Organisation. This represents a figure of one in six people going to bed desperately hungry every night. To say that is a lot of hungry people, would be the understatement of the century. Malnutrition kills 5 million children every year. Is that acceptable? Not in my book friends! That is why we support the Action Against Hunger campaign.

The combination of the global economic downturn and high food prices has meant there have been dramatic increases in the number of people worldwide who suffer from acute and chronic malnutrition - this has had a particularly devastating effect on the world's poor - and their chikdren! Declining wages and reduced opportunities has made the purchase of even basic food even moor difficult, especially in the developing countries where the cost remains desperately high, a United Nations study revealed at the end of 2008. The average price was an incredible 24% more than two years previously.

These figures underscore the urgency of the global hunger crisis. Action Against Hunger is working every day to save the lives of malnourished children and provide families with access to safe drinking water and sustainable solutions to hunger.

Some simple facts to consider:

1/ There is enough food in the world to feed 12 billion people, twice the present world population. The problems lie with the distribution of the available food, not the amount itself.

2/ If the vast amounts of money spent by both the developed and developing world countries were transfered to feeding those who lack sufficient food and water, there would not be a hunger crisis and starving millions around the world in the first place.

Action against Hunger