WFP held conference in London on Wednesday, reporting that the number of hungry people has passed 1 billion in 2009, which is a record high in history. However, the food aid is 20-year low,according to the data of UN Food and Agriculture Organization.
Josette Sheeran, executive director of WFP, said the WFP was aiming to feed 108 million people in 2009, but is facing a serious budget shortfall, which is about US$3 billion.
In Kenya, food crisis "have pushed almost 4 million into the hunger trap" while in Guatemala, nutritious food supplements to 100,000 children and 50, 000 pregnant and lactating women "is hanging by a thread";
Meanwhile, in Bangladesh, WFP is reaching barely 1 million people out of a target 5 million because of the shortage.
Sheeran is hoping that governments, private corporations and members of the public can all help WFP meet those urgent hunger needs.
Especially with the UN General Assembly and the G20 summit in Pittsburgh on the horizon, there is an ideal opportunity for world leaders to put hunger on the map.
Advert.