SILVER SPRING, Md.--On October 16, the Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA) joins the world in commemorating World Food Day, recognizing an immediate need for increased access to food in many countries, as the number of the world's hungry continues to grow, and the amount of food assistance shrinks.
According to the World Food Programme (WFP), the number of people globally suffering from hunger has reached a record high this year, surpassing more than 1 billion people. Meanwhile, the amount of available food aid has dropped to its lowest number in two decades.
"The double whammy of the financial crisis and the still record high food prices around the world is delivering a devastating blow," said Josette Sheeran, executive director for WFP. "Throw in a storm, a drought, and conflict, and you have a recipe for disaster."
To meet the ongoing challenges of today's changing world, ADRA continues to implement much-needed projects that provide emergency and development relief to communities on the brink of starvation.
In Guatemala, where millions are currently struggling to survive the worst drought in 30 years, ADRA just completed a distribution of emergency food baskets for 377 families in some of the country's worst affected communities.
"The problem is very serious," said Otoniel Trujillo, country director for ADRA Guatemala. "There are many people that are currently in need of a lot of help."
In response to the ongoing food crisis that is affecting an estimated 250,000 people in southern Madagascar, ADRA is partnering with WFP and other organizations to provide Food-for-Work and other activities for more than 18,000 households in the affected region. ADRA is also distributing more than 4,000 tons of food throughout 16 communities in the districts of Ambovombe and Tsihombe, in the Androy Region. Other partners include the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), also of the United Nations.
"In recent months, the food security situation in the south has steadily worsened," said Peter Delhove, country director for ADRA Madagascar. "This project is expected to meet the needs of affected households in that region, helping them to make it to the next harvest."
In order to fight malnutrition among Malawian children under the age of five, ADRA is working with the local government and other non-governmental organizations to train parents and care givers in nutrition, effective childcare, and healthy feeding habits, through an initiative called the Resilience and Capacity Building for Vulnerable Households and Communities affected by HIV/AIDS, Malawi project. In collaboration with trained health care providers, ADRA is supporting mothers who have malnourished children through training, practical cooking, infant feeding demonstrations, and counseling.
"ADRA believes that solutions for most of the problems can be found within the same communities," said Thoko Mwapasa, project manager for ADRA Malawi.
Therefore, ADRA facilitates the transfer of knowledge within the community by drawing lessons and beneficial practices from mothers of well-nourished children from low-income families.
By the project's completion in 2011, an estimated 2,000 children under five years of age from the districts of Mulanje and Neno, in southern Malawi will have benefited.
"The intervention can greatly contribute to better health outcomes for children under five who are often at risk of child mortality, since a lack of good nutrition leaves children vulnerable to frequent illnesses and poor growth," said Mwapasa.
According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the vast majority of the world's hungry live in developing countries, with 65 percent of those suffering from hunger found in India, China, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Pakistan and Ethiopia. Nearly two-thirds of the world's hungry live in Asia.
World Food Day was created to raise awareness about global food scarcity, motivating communities to get involved in the fight against world hunger.
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ADRA is a non-governmental organization present in 125 countries providing sustainable community development and disaster relief without regard to political or religious association, age, gender, race or ethnicity.
For more information about ADRA, visit www.adra.org.
[ Any views expressed in this article are those of the writer and not of Reuters. ]
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