U.S. military dismayed by delays in 3 key development projects in Afghanistan

Friday, 29 April 2011 12:55

U.S. aid officials have been forced to delay three large development programs intended to support the American military strategy in southern Afghanistan at a critical, make-or-break moment in the war.

The initiatives, which are supposed to support local governments, agricultural development and job-training efforts, have been held up by bureaucratic missteps and funding cuts by Congress, according to senior U.S. officials. As a result, the programs will not begin until much of the summer fighting season has concluded.

Read more: U.S. military dismayed by delays in 3 key development projects in Afghanistan

Economic crisis is devastating for the world's hungry

Friday, 16 October 2009 08:43

 

Number of hungry people "intolerable"

1.02 billion hungry people in 2009 - FAO hunger report published

The sharp spike in hunger triggered by the global economic crisis has hit the poorest people in developing countries hardest, revealing a fragile world food system in urgent need of reform, according to a report released today by FAO and the World Food Programme (WFP).

The combination of food and economic crises has pushed the number of hungry people worldwide to historic levels — more than one billion people are undernourished, according to FAO estimates.

Read more: Economic crisis is devastating for the world's hungry

Ethiopia - 44% of Ethiopians undernourished - FAO Report

Friday, 16 October 2009 08:17

Source: Nazret.com

35 million Ethiopians or about 44% of the total population are undernourished according to a report released by the UN Food and Agriculture Organaization (FAO). The report which refers the data from 2004 to 2006, shows a progress for Ethiopia in reducing the percentage of malnourished people from 71% in 1990-92 to 44% in 2004-06. The country still has one of the largest proportion of malnourished people in the world, but the report shows a marked decrease in the percentage of malnutrition prevalence. This compares to 30% malnutrition prevalence in Kenya and 66% in Eritrea, which has the second highest malnutrition percentage in the world after Congo (D.R). The DRC was the worst affected, followed by Burundi, Eritrea, Sierra Leone, Chad and Ethiopia.

Read more: Ethiopia - 44% of Ethiopians undernourished - FAO Report

Not enough rain, not enough food in Guatemala

Thursday, 01 October 2009 09:30

Source: Miami Herald
By: Trenton Daniel

Victoria Lopez cradles her 2-year-old granddaughter Jennifer, whose chubby cheeks, bloated legs and stunted growth make her look much younger than healthy children her age.

``She just sits there -- she doesn't move,'' Lopez, 39, said as she rocked the toddler in her arms. ``She's two and not even walking yet.''

Jennifer's condition is not unique among children in the hills of Guatemala's so-called dry corridor along the Pacific. The country's worst drought in 30 years has destroyed 80 percent of the region's crops and claimed the lives of more than a dozen children so far this year.

Read more: Not enough rain, not enough food in Guatemala