End Hunger Blog

President of Liberia Ellen Johnson Sirleaf Receives 2006 Africa Prize for Leadership for the Sustainable End of Hunger

On October 21, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, President of the Republic of Liberia, received The Hunger Project's 2006 Africa Prize for Leadership for the Sustainable End of Hunger. 

You can read President Sirleaf's remarks upon accepting the award and Joan Holmes' (President, The Hunger Project) keynote address from the awards event.

The Hunger Projct is an international NGO that works in partnership with people in more than 10,000 villages across Sub-Saharan Africa, South Asia and Latin to sustainably end hunger in these areas.

New Biography on Norman E. Borlaug

For those who are interested in learning more about 92-year old Dr. Norman E. Borlaug, Founder of the World Food Prize and Nobel Peace Prize Laureate, a new biography on him was released in August "The Man Who Fed the World: Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Norman Borlaug and His Battle to End World Hunger" (by Leon Hesser).

2006 World Food Prize International Symposium Held

From October 18-20 the 2006 World Food Prize International Symposium was held in Des Moines, Iowa.  The theme of the symposium was "The Green Revolution Redux: Can We Replicate the Single Greatest Period of Food Production in All Human History?".  You can download audio transcripts of this event here.

This event also marked the 20th anniversary of the World Food Prize, which was started in 1986 by Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Dr. Norman E. Borlaug.  The purpose of this prize is to recognize achievements that significantly increase the quality, quantity or availability of food in the world. 

The 2006 World Food Prize was awarded at the symposium.  This year's prize was shared by three people: Edson Lobato, A. Colin McClung, and Alysson Paolinelli.

U.S. Senate Committee on Foreign Relations Holds Hearing on Ending Child Hunger

On September 26 the U.S. Senate Committee on Foreign Relations held a hearing on the global crisis of child hunger and strategies to end it.

Those who testified at the hearing included the Executive Directors from the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) and UNICEF, as well as representatives from the U.S. Agency for International Development, the Centers for Disease Control, and World Vision.

Strategies for action discussed at the hearing included the "Ending Child Hunger and Undernutrition Initiative" - a campaign initiated by WFP and UNICEF to mobilize the global community to end child hunger and undernutrition within a generation.

Some resources for more information:

• Hearing information from the U.S. Senate Committee on Foreign Relations.  Includes PDFs of witness testimony and audio of hearing.

• Articles on the hearing from the UN, WFP and Washington File (U.S. Department of State)

• September 2006 draft of the Global Framework for Action: Ending Child Hunger and Undernutrition Initiative (PDF)

"World Run Day" Joins Movement to End Child Hunger; Event Takes Place on November 5

lOn November 5, 2006 World Run Day will be held.  This event, started in 1999, focuses on promoting charitable giving.  For 2006 this event has partnered with the Fight Hunger Initiative of the UN World Food Programme and the event's focus will be on efforts to end child hunger worldwide.

World Run Day events are currently being planned in cities in the U.S. and countries around the world.  To join an event in your area or start your own, visit the World Run Day website.

Gates and Rockefeller Foundations Contribute $150 Million to Fight hunger in Africa

leOn September 12, 2006 the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the Rockefeller Foundation announced the launch of the "Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa" (AGRA).  AGRA will initially receive $150 million from these foundations.  This parternship aims to improve agricultural development in Africa.

You can learn more on this initiative from the Gates Foundation, Rockefeller Foundation, a background paper (PDF), the African Crops News Service, and TIME magazine.

Hunger News Section Added

In order to help readers of this blog stay informed on some of the many hunger-related developments from around the world, a "Hunger News from Around the World" section has been added.  This currently is a RSS feed from Google News.  Please include a comment if you have suggestions for additional news feeds.