Monthly Archives: October 2011

World Food Day in a time of famine (Blog Action Day)

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World Food Day in a time of famine | World Vision blog
World Vision New Zealand’s nutrition specialist Briony Stevens has just returned from East Africa. She blogs about her experience as part of today’s Blog Action Day, dedicated this year to discussion on the topic of food given that today is also World Food Day. *    *    * World Food Day seems such a bizarre concept when you’re standing in an over-crowded refugee camp in East Africa where there is a distinct lack of anything edible. When you’re measuring the circumference of a child’s upper arm as a means of determining how malnourished they are. When you watch a mother continue to clutch her baby to her, long after he or she has passed away....
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Answers from a food aid expert (Part 1)

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To mark World Food Day, October 16, we asked you earlier this week to share your questions about food aid — its complexities, and its implications on economic development and child health. This is part 1 of a 2-part series of responses to those questions from Paul Macek, World Vision’s senior director of integrated food and nutrition. Paul leads a team of specialized program officers who focus on food security, livelihoods, economic development, nutrition, agriculture, and environment. Paul has degrees in history and political science from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and a Master of Arts in international affairs with concentrations in international development and political economy from American University in Washington, D.C. Part 2 will be posted on Monday, October...
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What disaster? 4 global crises that deserve more attention…

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4 disasters | World Vision blog
Today is a day of observance mostly unknown to people outside of the international relief and development world — the International Day for Disaster Reduction. But with the American media largely preoccupied with the goings-on of our dysfunctional political environment, I’m taking the opportunity to commemorate this day you’ve likely never heard of by talking about four disasters you’ve probably not heard too much about. These disasters impact vulnerable children and families, and they deserve more attention....
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The story the photos will never tell

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The story the photos will never tell | World Vision blog
Someone once said that a picture is worth a thousand words — but as I sit here looking through photos from my recent trip to the Horn of Africa, I don’t think that’s true. This picture is of Falima, a 25-year-old Somalian who recently entered the Dadaab refugee camp in northeastern Kenya. She is holding her son, Abdullah, while her 3-year-old daughter, Fauhuya, hides behind her....
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Ask an expert about food aid

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When I was a little kid, my sister (who never ate her vegetables) used to wish aloud at the dinner table that she could send her broccoli to Africa, where the kids really need it. At the time, I liked to think of myself as not quite so naive — I knew we couldn’t literally send our vegetables to Africa. It would taste really bad by the time it got there. Yes, shipping leftovers probably isn’t a best practice in terms of humanitarian food aid. But what about food security? And malnutrition prevention and mitigation? And ready-to-use therapeutic food? Asking questions like these is absolutely essential in better understanding the complexities of humanitarian work. It’s also why we’re continuing with...
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