Book Classic:  Famine, Conflict and Response:  a Basic Guide By Fred Cuny, with Rick Hill      (West Hartford, CN:  Kumarian Press       1999) This basic, extremely readable text about famine prevention and relief remains a preferred textbook decades after first written by Fred Cuny, and published after he was killed along with his team near Chechnya.  Compiled posthumously by Fred’s colleagues Rick Hill and Pat Reed, the text style is not academic, but practical, reflecting Fred’s own frontline problem solving in a wide range of ..read more

BOOK REVIEW:  The Enduring Struggle:  The History of the U.S. Agency for International Development and America’s Uneasy Transformation of the World, by John Norris.   2021.   Lanham MD:  Rowman & Littlefield Publisher. America’s primary international assistance organization, for moving federal tax dollars to solve global problems, has for over 60 years been the United States Agency for International Development, known more commonly as USAID (or in the past, AID). USAID has had a long and illustrious history of providing varied development and emergency as ..read more

In this opinion piece, Dominic MacSorley, former CEO of Concern Worldwide  writes from the Sudan about the world hunger situation.   He says: “Gaza and Ukraine have been most prominent in the public eye but they form only a fraction of the 117 million people experiencing acute food insecurity as a result of conflict in 19 countries and territories, including the Central African Republic, the Central Sahel, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Ethiopia, Nigeria, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, Syria, and Yemen.” https://concernusa.org/news/opinion-world-without-hunger/ The po ..read more

Inspiring a Generation of Hunger Advocates The anti-hunger movement lost a pivotal figure this year. The World Hunger Education Service (WHES) joins Bread for the World and numerous others in mourning the passing of Rev. Arthur (Art) Simon, who died on November 15, 2023 at the age of 93. His impact was profound and far-reaching. Leading a Movement Simon founded Bread for the World, an advocacy organization, in 1974 and served as its first president. His leadership guided a generation who continue to make significant strides in combating hunger both in the U.S. and globally.  “Art was a fo ..read more

Russia has indicated that the decision to withdraw from the Black Sea Grain Deal,  which allows Ukraine to export grain from ports on the Black Sea, is final.  Russia has said that any ship traveling to or from Ukraine ports will be considered an enemy vessel. 601 308 The post As Russia quits Black Sea Grain Deal, Food Prices Rise appeared first on World Hunger News ..read more

Cindy McCain, the new Director of WFP, says she will not let the widespread  corruption of food aid take place in the future.  Recently arrived, Ms. McCain, has had to shut down food programs in Ethiopia over the widespread misuse of food aid resources by local authorities. 601 308 The post New World Food Programme Director says “Not on my watch” appeared first on World Hunger News ..read more

In an extraordinary move, USAID has suspended all food aid to Ethiopia countrywide due to widespread and systemic corruption by federal and local authorities.  The World Food Programme Director and Deputy Director have both stepped down from their positions. 601 308 The post In extraordinary move, USAID suspends all food aid to Ethiopia appeared first on World Hunger News ..read more

For anyone interested in learning what development work overseas entails, what work is like, there may be no better introduction that Robert Gurevich’s novel, The Razor’s Edge, thinly modeled on his own experiences in Africa, with his protagonist, writing in the first person, caught between the US Government’s Agency for International Development and non-governmental organization work, primarily in basic education for kids.  One reviewer on Amazon agrees:  “Any development worker contemplating taking a senior foreign posting, especially with an NGO, on a government-funded education p ..read more

In this video interview by PBS.org, David Beasley, former Governor of South Carolina, and the outgoing Executive Director of the UN World Food Program (WFP) speaks about his organization’s feeding those in greatest need.  From March 21, 2023. WFP is providing food aid to 160 million persons, and the hunger needs continue to grow.  Beasley says in the interview:  “I do think the problems we’re facing around the world are quite extraordinary. But, as I tell them, look, there’s $400 trillion worth of wealth around the planet today, and your charity is not the long-term solution. Bu ..read more

The World Health Organization (WHO) reported the results of a retrospective study commissioned by both their WHO-Somalia office and Unicef’s Somalia office.  The study,  conducted by the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and Imperial College-London, used  statistical modeling to determine that approximately 43,000 excess deaths occurred in 2022 due to the drought in Somalia, largely associated with malnutrition. 600 308 The post WHO Reports 43,000 excess deaths in 2022 due to Drought appeared first on World Hunger News ..read more