WFP’S DAUNTING TASK: FEEDING 1.7 MILLION REFUGEES IN 2006 GENEVA – As the media and the humanitarian community focus on the spreading drought in the Horn of Africa, the United Nations World Food Programme is deeply concerned that more attention is needed to highlight the persistent problems faced by the world’s refugees – most of them in Africa.
EGYPTIAN FOOTBALLER ABOUTRIKA PLAYS AGAINST HUNGER CAIRO - Egyptian soccer player, Mohamed Aboutrika is to use his celebrity status to help the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) in its fight against child hunger, the agency announced today. The 28-year-old Egyptian striker is a famous footballer in the Middle East, and plays for Egypt’s giant club Al-Ahly.
WORLD’S FIRST HUMANITARIAN INSURANCE POLICY ISSUED ADDIS ABABA – The United Nations World Food Programme announced today that AXA RE has been awarded the world’s first insurance contract for humanitarian emergencies. The contract provides US $7 million in contingency funding in a pilot scheme to provide coverage in the case of an extreme drought during Ethiopia’s 2006 agricultural season.
WFP APPEALS FOR SAFE PASSAGE FOR FOOD AID AMID NEPAL’S CRISIS Kathmandu – The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) has appealed to all parties to allow safe passage for food convoys in Nepal. Despite ongoing violence, WFP reiterated its commitment to continuing to provide urgently needed food aid to hundreds of thousands of Nepalese.