hunger

The election of a Director General of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) must kick start a new era for the organization if it is to play a leading role in the fight against high and volatile food prices and growing hunger, said Oxfam today.

A broken food system and environmental crises are now reversing decades of progress against hunger according to new Oxfam analysis. Tomorrow, Oxfam launches a new global campaign to ensure everyone has enough to eat always.

At a time when one in seven people face a daily struggle to get enough food, Oxfam is calling on world leaders gathering in Turkey May 9-13 to seize the opportunity and help lift the most vulnerable nations out of poverty.

International agency Oxfam today called for a radical shake up of the Food Aid Convention, being negotiated in London this week (week of 28 February), to ensure the burgeoning number of hungry people in the world get the predictable, timely and appropriate aid they need.

The FAO announced today that world food prices have reached a new historic peak - surpassing levels seen during the global food price crisis of 2007 - 08 when the number of hungry people in

Somalia is suffering its worst drought in years and failed rains are already devastating half a million lives, international aid agency Oxfam warned today. An ongoing conflict in the country together with the drought has pushed hundreds of thousands of Somalis beyond their ability to cope.

In 2010, more than 10 million people have been affected by the food crisis in the Sahel.

Given the rapid expansion and recurrence of the food crises in West Africa and the inadequate responses of policy makers and other actors, Oxfam and Bilital Maroobe say it is necessary to rethink the strategies to implement in order to respond to these recurring disasters.

Countries from both the rich and the developing worlds must stop their recriminations and scepticism from derailing vital UN talks, beginning today, to find ways of helping feed the world's 925 million hungry people.

The international community urgently needs to inject more funds and effort to stem a spiraling crisis in flood-hit Pakistan. A new United Nations appeal for funds will be issued on Friday.