Pope Francis begins his visit to two of the world’s worst hunger crises: the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and South Sudan. His visit comes at a time when WFP faces shrinking funds to reach millions facing severe hunger in these countries.
“There’s a level of desperation that I haven’t seen since the height of the Darfur crisis,” says Laura Turner, World Food Programme (WFP) Deputy Country Director
In the world’s youngest country, WFP is empowering communities by constructing roads to improve food security and develop rural economies.
In response to the looming threat of famine, WFP has scaled up to reach more people than ever before in Somalia – people like Mido.
Since the start of the year, 9 million more people have slipped into severe hunger across Ethiopia, Kenya and Somalia – leaving 22 million people struggling to find enough food to eat.
Refugees and IDPs face some of the toughest challenges imaginable in their search for stability. One of the worst is hunger.
Almost one-third of the acutely food insecure South Sudanese the WFP planned to support this year will be left without humanitarian food assistance due to critical funding shortages, heightening the risk of starvation for 1.7 million people.
The packaging of WFP’s food has a lot to accomplish. It has to protect and preserve food, provide information on safe use and disposal, be able to withstand a variety of climates, sit for extended periods of time, allow for effective transport and tracking – and be environmentally sustainable.
In Somalia, the risk of famine looms larger than ever due to a historic fourth consecutive failed rainy season, skyrocketing prices and an underfunded humanitarian response.
Here are seven stories of mothers who are protecting, caring for and feeding their families. Each simply wants their children to live in safety with access to good food and education.
