*EPF207 01/09/01
Text: U.N. Release on Potential for World Hunger in 2001
(Official warns of worsening plight for 830 million hungry) (560)

The head of the United Nations' World Food Program (WFP) cautioned that 830 million hungry people in the world could suffer further food shortages in 2001. Catherine Bertini said war and drought remain the conditions leading to inadequate food supplies in some regions, as she spoke at a U.N. news conference in New York.

According to a January 8 press release, Bertini urged the international community to provide further aid to support hunger relief efforts. "We can't run away from these problems," she said. "One way or another, they have a way of showing up on our doorstep through television, mass emigration, the spread of disease and environmental degradation."

Further details about WFP food aid programs currently underway in Sudan, Tanzania, North Korea, the Balkans and West Africa are available at http://www.wfp.org/newsroom/default.htm

Following is the text of a U.N. press release on the WFP statements:

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UNITED NATIONS NEWS SERVICE

2001 will be a "tough year" for the world's hungry, UN food agency warns

8 January - The head of the United Nations World Food Program (WFP) today warned of a "tough year" ahead for the estimated 830 million people worldwide who go hungry as a result of conflict, natural disaster or extreme poverty.

At a press conference this morning at UN Headquarters in New York, WFP chief Catherine Bertini presented a "World Hunger Map" illustrating the global geographical distribution of hunger. She warned that 2001 would be difficult for the millions of people trapped in poverty and those living in numerous "hot spots," and indicated that war and drought continue to be the major culprits forcing people to go without food.

"We are looking at a number of 'hot spots' -- especially in Africa -- where WFP's continued help will be necessary to prevent people from starving to death," she said, noting that the world's poorest nations are often hit simultaneously by both natural and man-made emergencies, as has been the case in the Sudan, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Indonesia, Afghanistan, Sierra Leone, Guinea and Tajikistan.

"Unfortunately, we see a potential for that to continue or even increase in 2001," she said.

In the greater Horn of Africa alone, about 16 million people who suffer from conflict and drought will continue to have the greatest need, according to WFP, which has allocated over two-thirds of its total projected emergency food aid this year to that sub-region.

"Last year, we prevented a repeat of the 1983-84 Ethiopia famine, but we're not out of the woods yet," Ms. Bertini said. "Millions of people are still at risk in the Horn and the next few months will be critical to sustain recovery."

The agency chief stressed the need for the international community to recommit itself to preventing starvation throughout the world, and warned that contributions to WFP and other agencies had fallen far short of actual needs.

"We can't run away from these problems," she said. "One way or another, they have a way of showing up on our doorstep through television, mass emigration, the spread of disease and environmental degradation. Responding to these problems is not just the right thing to do, it's the smart thing."

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(Distributed by the Office of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)
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