World Food Programme Welcomes G8 Resolve - Urges Practical Steps To Help The Hungry

Main Category: Aid / Disasters
Article Date: 11 Jul 2008 - 3:00 PDT

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The World Food Programme welcomed the commitment shown by global leaders at the G8 summit in Japan to support efforts to soften the impact of high food prices on the poor.

"What we have seen at the G8 summit is the resolve to help protect the poorest from the devastating effect of high food prices and to find long term solutions to the food crisis," said Josette Sheeran, Executive Director of the World Food Programme. "We need to follow through with practical measures that can make a real difference in addressing urgent hunger needs throughout the world."

WFP has led the way in demanding concerted international action to address the effects of high food prices on the poor. It has been calling for a range of measures including:

- Un-tied or un-earmarked donations that give WFP greater flexibility for procuring and pre-positioning food for the hungry.

- The lifting of export restrictions on all humanitarian food purchases.

- Urgent consideration of the possible need for humanitarian global grain reserves.

"We are living in unusual times, and this requires practical solutions now if we are going to confront the challenges we face," said Sheeran. "The G8 expressed resolve, which I welcome. Now comes the hard part: solving problems and reaching as many hungry people as possible in as sustainable a way as possible."

WFP is the world's largest humanitarian agency: this year, WFP plans to feed up to 90 million people in 78 countries.

WFP