WFP launches new joint-initiative to end child hunger during Annual Executive Board

The “Ending Child Hunger and Undernutrition Initiative” was endorsed by all the delegates attending the Executive Board Session of the World Food Programme (WFP) from 7 to 11 November at WFP headquarters in Rome.

The initiative is a global effort between WFP, the World Bank and the United Nation’s Children Fund (UNICEF) to garner broad based, global partnerships in order to focus and support national efforts to eradicate child hunger and undernutrition. A Plan of Action will be launched in April 2006 in which WFP will serve as a catalyst to create partnerships required to end child hunger.

Focusing on child hunger not only addresses the first Millennium Development Goal (MDG) of halving extreme poverty and hunger but it is also strongly linked to progress on other MDGs related to child mortality, maternal health, primary education, gender equality and HIV/AIDS by 2015.

Other policy issues discussed during WFPs Executive Board meeting included the status of WFP’s School Feeding Programme, its Enabling Development Policy, the Emergency Needs Assessment Implementation Plan as well as the response to the Indian Tsunami and the need of the agency to increase its capacity to respond to ever-increasing emergencies caused by natural disasters.

For more information on the proceedings of this session please read the decisions and recommendation of the Board by clicking here.