Ethiopian Review

Addis Abeba — The United Nation’s World Food Program (WFP) said on Friday it was to launch 5th “Walk-the-World” event in Addis Ababa.

It said the walk was being organized as part of a larger advocacy and fundraising strategy consistent with WFP’s commitment to end child hunger and the United Nation’s Millennium Development Goal- to halve hunger by 2015.

Thousands of participants are expected to join the Walk the World event, taking to the streets of the capital at 10.00 AM in the morning, to begin a five kilometer sponsored walk, said Mohamed Diab, Country Director of WFP on Friday at the joint press conference of WFP and Ethiopian Air Lines, one of the first class sponsirs of the walk .

The sponsored walk in Addis Ababa will be just one of several taking place in Ethiopia, and of hundreds taking place across the globe, as more than half a million people are expected to literally walk the world to fight child hunger.

The Walk-the-World event will straddle over 70 countries, and walkers will cross 24 time zones in 24 hours, he added.

“Walk-the-World has, in a few short years, become the United Nations World Money raised from pledges secured before the walks, will support WFP’s global school feeding campaign which aims to ensure that every child has the opportunity to learn basic reading, writing and arithmetic.” he said.

According to Mohammed, the walk event preferred to help highlight the serious issue of global child hunger; to raise funds and awareness to help end child hunger; to be part of a network of individuals and organizations fighting hunger; as well as to have fun while supporting a good cause.

According to facts obtained from WFP, more than 4 million children in Ethiopia do not attend school due to social and economic challenges. WFP’s Food for Education Programme in Ethiopia currently has resources to assist over 481,000 children. The Food for Education Programme is implemented predominantly in Afar, Oromiya, Amhara, SNNP, Tigray and Somali regions where drought is recurrent.

WFP’s school enrolment rates have shown a 5% annual increase as research has clearly demonstrated that the provision of a hot, midday meal is an incentive for children to go to school.

WFP’s school feeding programmes are reaching some 16 million children globally, each year, nourishing their bodies as well as their minds and encouraging them to attend school.

WFP is the world’s largest humanitarian agency: each year, WFP gives food to an average of 70 million poor people to meet their nutritional needs in some 80 of the world’s poorest countries.

- Daily Monitor