The World Food Programme (WFP) was created in November 1961 as a three-year, US$100 million experiment by the United Nations. In 1962, our governing body held its first session and we responded to our first emergency, an earthquake in Iran. And in 1963, we had our operational launch. Together, these events of five decades ago set WFP on a course that today still saves lives and livelihoods around the world.
Today, with a workforce of 14,500 in 92 countries, the World Food Programme is often all that keeps a hungry child alive. Because we know that hunger is the world’s greatest solvable problem, we deliver life-saving nourishment to around 100 million people each year.
50 leaders, 50 weeks, 50 videos
Few humanitarian organizations have as much to be proud of over five decades as WFP, so in 2012 we’re pausing to reflect upon on our past achievements and our future challenges.
To commemorate 50 years of service to the hungry, we introduce “50 Takes on Hunger,” a dynamic, year-long, web feature in which 50 people of influence from every walk of life will offer their thoughts via video about the global fight against hunger. We will hear from national leaders and business executives, actors and musicians, political commentators and fashion designers, athletes and more.
We invite you to join us here each week for a different view on hunger. Together, let’s engage in dialogue towards a better world in 2012 and beyond... one without hunger. |
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What You Need To Know About Hunger In 2012 |
| How many hungry people are there in the world and where do most of them live? What effect does it have on their minds and bodies and what can we do to help them? Here is a list of 10 facts to help you understand why hunger is the single biggest solvable problem facing the world today. |
 1. Approximately 925 million people in the world do not eat enough to be healthy. That means that one in every seven people on Earth goes to bed hungry each night. (Source: FAO News Release, 2012)
2. While the number of hungry people has risen, as a percentage of the world population, hunger actually fell from 37 per cent of the population in 1969 to just over 16 per cent of the population in 2010. (Source: FAO, 2010)
3. Well over half of the world’s hungry people–some 578 million people–live in Asia and the Pacific region. Africa accounts for just over one quarter of the world’s hungry population. (Source: FAO, The State of Food Insecurity in the World, 2010)
4. Hunger is number one on the list of the world’s top 10 health risks. It kills more people every year than AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis combined. (Source: UNAIDS global report, 2010; WHO World Hunger and Poverty Statistics, 2011).
5. A third of all deaths in children under the age of five in developing countries are linked to undernutrition. (Source: UNICEF Report on Child Nutrition, 2006)
6. The first 1,000 days of a child’s life, from pregnancy through age two, are the critical window in which to tackle undernutrition. A proper diet in this period can protect children from the mental and physical stunting that can result from malnutrition. (Source: UN Standing Committee on Nutrition, 2009)
7. It costs just US $0.25 per day to provide a child with all of the vitamins and nutrients he or she needs to grow up healthy. (Source: WFP, 2011)
8. Malnourished mothers often give birth to underweight babies who are 20 per cent more likely to die before the age of five. Up to 17 million children are born underweight every year. (Source: A World Fit for Children, UNICEF, 2007)
9. By 2050, climate change and erratic weather patterns will have pushed another 24 million children into hunger. Almost half of these children will live in sub-Saharan Africa. (Source: Climate Change and Hunger: Responding to the Challenge, WFP, 2009)
10. Hunger is the single biggest solvable problem facing the world today. Here are eight effective strategies for fighting hunger. Learn More |
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