NY Daily News Oped on Congo Hunger Emergency

President Trump’s vulgar comments about Africa are bad enough. Far more disturbing is his lack of action fighting world hunger, especially that continent’s famine threat.

The United Nations just sounded the alarm of famine threatening the Democratic Republic of the Congo. This war-torn nation has millions of displaced civilians, many of them farmers. Without the planting of crops, food supplies are nonexistent.

War victims in the Congo need the assistance of the UN World Food Program, UNICEF and other relief agencies. But funding is dangerously low. Starvation will claim many lives unless we act now.

See my full commentary at the NY Daily News:

We Must Respond to South Sudan Famine

The United Nations declared famine Monday in parts of South Sudan, where 100,000 people are facing starvation. It could get much worse too with another million on the brink.

South Sudan, which has suffered immensely from civil conflict, could see over 5 million people living in hunger if no action is taken.

Read the full article at the Huffington Post:

Help Mariam Get School Lunches Again

It’s National School Lunch Week in the United States. But school lunches are important to kids everywhere around the world. So let’s visit with one of these children in a land far away, the African nation of Mali.

Mariam is a 12-year old from Yelimane village in Mali. She’s had a tough life, losing her parents at a young age. She lives now with her grandparents and sister. They are poor in a country ravaged by conflict in recent years.

Read my full commentary at The Huffington Post.

A warning from the Central African Republic

War in the Central African Republic (CAR) is causing severe food shortages. The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) said this week that 2.5 million people, about half the population, are hungry.

Read the full article at Examiner.

Central African Republic gets early holiday gift

The Central African Republic (CAR) just received an early holiday gift that will benefit hungry children and farmers. The UN World Food Programme (WFP) said on Friday that Germany, the United States and Japan had donated to support the Purchase for Progress plan in the CAR.

Read the full article at Examiner.

South Sudan: four million have no food

The UN World Food Programme (WFP), in a press release yesterday, says that 3.9 million in South Sudan are living in hunger.

Read the full article at Examiner.

Alarming increase in hunger for Ethiopia

The UN World Food Programme (WFP) said Monday the number of Ethiopians needing food aid to survive had risen to 8.2 million. This is a rapid escalation in hunger since the beginning of the year, when around 2.5 million were needing food assistance.

Read the full article at Examiner.

Civilians face starvation in South Sudan, UN demands access

The United Nations warned today that 30,000 people are “facing starvation and death” in war-torn South Sudan. The UNWorld Food Programme, UNICEF and the Food and Agriculture Organization are demanding immediate access to these starving war victims, who are in Unity State.

Read the full article at Examiner:

U.S. Food for Peace donation saves refugees

The United Nations today announced a life-saving donation from the U.S. Food for Peace program. The US $ 2 million contribution will feed refugees in the African nation of Mauritania. The refugees had fled conflict in neighboring Mali.

Read the full article at Examiner:

Rwanda's dream of a music school

The author Kahlil Gibran once wrote, “Music is the language of the spirit. It opens the secret of life bringing peace, abolishing strife.”

In the African nation of Rwanda, the spirit of peace is so needed just two decades removed from a civil war and genocide. Mary Fanaro, the director of the charity OmniPeace, recently visited there.
Her organization helps communities overcome poverty by enhancing education.

Read the full article at The Huffington Post.

Food rations reduced for refugees in Kenya

On World Refugee Day, displaced persons in Kenya are having their food rations reduced because of low funding. The UN World Food Programme (WFP) says that refugees from the wars in Somalia and South Sudan will receive 30 percent less food.

Read the full article at Examiner.

Millions at risk of starvation in South Sudan

The hunger emergency in South Sudan is described as "frightening" by Oxfam's country director Zlatko Gegic. There are already 3.8 million people suffering from severe hunger in the conflict-torn nation.

Read the full article at Examiner.

Boko Haram causing a hunger crisis http://www.

Boko Haram violence has displaced thousands in northeast Nigeria. It has also spilled over into other countries, causing a hunger crisis in Cameroon, Niger and Chad.

Read more at Examiner.

Oxfam warns about South Sudan crisis

The charity Oxfam is warning that South Sudan has reached a breaking point as conflict and a collapsed economy take their toll. A severe hunger crisis could threaten over 3 million people by June.

Read the full article at Examiner.

Malawi determined to build home-grown school feeding

Just recently the WFP director, Ertharin Cousin, visited Malawi to see how the agency’s relief programs are helping. One of the biggest WFP relief programs is school feeding.

Read the full article at Examiner.

How Finland helps war victims in Sudan

The UN World Food Programme (WFP) today announced a contribution from Finland. Over 300,000 people in refugee camps in Sudan will benefit from this donation.

Read the full article at Examiner.

Helicopters bring food to flood victims

The UN World Food Programme (WFP) continues to rush aid to flood victims in Malawi. Heavy rains last month wiped away homes and left over 120,000 displaced in the African nation.

Read the full article at Examiner.

Heavy floods strike Malawi, food aid needed

Massive flooding has struck the African nation of Malawi and humanitarian aid is urgently needed.

Read the full article at Examiner.

UK makes holiday gift to Sudan

The United Kingdom made a holiday gift to Sudan this week.

Read the full article at Examiner.

China to use internet to help WFP fight Ebola

Technology can be a vital tool in the fight against the Ebola virus. The China Foundation for Poverty Alleviation (CFPA) is launching an online fundraiser with Tencent, a major internet company.

Read the full article at Examiner.