Press Release for 2007

Madrid, Spain — With little over a million inhabitants each, Swaziland and Lesotho are at the top of the list of countries with the highest prevalence of HIV/AIDS, 33% and 23% respectively. Additionally, the rate of chronic malnutrition affects three out of ten children under five years of age in Lesotho and half the number of children in Swaziland. With those figures on the table, Action Against Hunger / Action Contre la Faim (ACF) has decided to intervene in both countries, and since last October, is developing a health and nutrition project that will allow for the reduction of infant malnutrition caused, in part, by AIDS.

New York, NY — Action Against Hunger, the international humanitarian agency, announces its latest research publication, Hunger & HIV: From Food Crisis to Integrated Care.

New York, NY — The international humanitarian organization Action Against Hunger raised $1.2 million at its annual benefit in New York on November 7th at Capitale.

Dhaka, Bangladesh — With Cyclone Sidr’s devastating human toll continuing to climb past 5,000 (with more than 3 million people affected), Action Against Hunger’s field teams have just announced more disquieting news: initial field surveys suggest upwards of 95% of all harvests were lost in the coastal regions of Bangladesh. Beyond the cyclone’s immediate devastation, the near total destruction of once productive lands exacerbates the crisis by threatening future self-sufficiency in the region.

Dhaka, Bangladesh — In response to the devastating cyclone that touched down in southern Bangladesh on November 15, international humanitarian organization Action Against Hunger (ACF) has dispatched emergency crews and life-saving materials to the region to supplement teams already on the ground at the time of the disaster. A natural disaster of significant proportions, the cyclone has killed more than 3,000 people to date and left a swath of destruction affecting some 3 million people.

New York, NY — The nutritional product “Plumpy’nut” has received some media attention recently. Despite the cute name, this product has shown considerable promise when it comes to tackling childhood malnutrition. As a “ready-to-use-therapeutic-food,” or RUTF, it is a nutritional product that could have a significant impact on the 20 million children who suffer severe forms of malnutrition around the world: only 3% of them ever receive treatment, resulting in 5 million childhood deaths each year.

New York, NY — A new partnership has been launched to address the declining state of the world’s fresh water supply and the lack of access to clean water services by the world’s poorest people.

New York, NY — The humanitarian organization Action Against Hunger has announced that Academy Award nominee and film director Terry George will receive the 2007 Action Against Hunger Humanitarian Award. Mr. George will be honored for his long-standing humanitarian commitments, his steadfast support of Action Against Hunger, and the impact of Hotel Rwanda, his award winning depiction of the Rwandan genocide.

New York, NY — Since 1980 when the UN first celebrated World Food Day, October 16th has served as a day to “heighten public awareness of the world food problem and strengthen solidarity in the struggle against hunger, malnutrition, and poverty.” Action Against Hunger marks the day by renewing its call for governments, foundations, and private philanthropists around the globe to join us and our colleagues in our efforts to eliminate hunger.

Madrid, Spain —

• Action Against Hunger’s team is working in coordination with other international and local organizations to guarantee that the population will have access to drinking water.
• In Sahsa, the most affected area in the Nicaraguan coast, the five gravity-fed water systems have collapsed. Besides the lack of water, a plague of rats increased the risk of transmission of diseases.
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