*EPF414 07/17/2003
Text: Agriculture's Veneman Congratulates U.N. Official on Award
(World Food Prize goes to former U.N. World Food Program leader) (380)

U.S. Agriculture Secretary Ann Veneman July 17 said Catherine Bertini, named recipient of the 2003 World Food Prize by the United Nations, "is a remarkable person who has dedicated her life to ensuring adequate food and proper nutrition for people around the world, especially for women and children."

Bertini, a U.N. under secretary-general and former head of the U.N. World Food Program, was awarded the prize July 16. The award was created in 1986 by Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Norman Borlaug.

Following is the text of Veneman's statement:

(begin text)

Agriculture Secretary Ann M. Veneman
Regarding the Selection of United Nations Under Secretary General
Catherine Bertini as the Recipient of the 2003 World Food Prize

July 17, 2003

"Congratulations to Catherine Bertini on receiving this incredible honor. She is a remarkable person who has dedicated her life to ensuring adequate food and proper nutrition for people around the world, especially for women and children. I have known and worked with Catherine for many years. I believe that her work on behalf of the world's most needy people truly reflects the spirit of the World Food Prize.

"She has made a difference in people's lives both here and abroad. Under her leadership as the Executive Director of the World Food Programme, she helped assure that Afghanistan women could continue their work to see to it that bread was baked and provided to other hungry women and children. She started a program to end famine in North Korea, which ultimately provided food to a third of the North Korean population. Here in the United States, as a former assistant secretary of agriculture, Catherine was the force behind the creation of electronic benefit transfer for food stamp delivery and was instrumental in adding a special food package for breast-feeding mothers in the Women, Infant and Children program (WIC).

"Catherine Bertini has touched the lives of millions of people and has helped save countless more by assuring that there is food during the worst of times. Her work has laid the groundwork for future efforts to alleviate hunger in the world. She is well deserving of this award."

(end text)

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

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