19 Jan 2007Food aid for children, AIDS and TB patiends in Cambodia slashed due to funding shortage
Source: WFP
WFP has warned that beginning next month more than 700,000 hungry Cambodians – mostly young children and HIV/AIDS and TB patients – will not receive essential food.
The situation is likely to worsen unless new donations are received soon.
“We are very grateful to donors for generously supporting this operation thus far, but the money is now running out. Cambodia is one of the world’s poorest countries, and these people rely on WFP’s help to keep them coming to school and getting HIV and TB treatment,” said James Morris, Executive Director of WFP.
Drug resistant TB
Those affected include some 650,000 children on school feeding programmes, as well as 70,000 people affected by HIV/AIDS and 18,000 TB patients.
"There is a chronic and persistent food insecurity situation in Cambodia," said Dr Peter Piot, Executive Director of UNAIDS. "Food and nutrition are an essential part of the package of care for people receiving treatment for AIDS and efforts must be made to ensure that all people living with HIV have access to the food and nutrition they need."
What is especially dangerous from a health perspective is the development of drug-resistant variants of TB among patients who do not complete their treatment.
Food aid incentive
Food aid is a major incentive to draw patients to health posts and clinics and receive a full course of treatment.
Those who fail to complete the course may well become incubators for new types of TB that threaten society at large.
Treatment of such cases, moreover, can cost up to 100 times as much as the original medication.
Since October 2006, a funding shortage has forced WFP to progressively reduce rations to beneficiaries, cutting the number of Cambodians eligible for assistance, and delaying the distribution of food to those who need it the most.
Diminishing donor support
WFP now needs at least US$10 million to distribute some 18,000 metric tons of food aid to 1.1 million Cambodians until July 2007.
Donor support for the agency’s relief programme in Cambodia has diminished alarmingly since 2005.
“Hundreds of thousands of children in Cambodia count on the nutritious meal provided to them by the World Food Programme,” said Thomas Keusters, WFP Country Director in Cambodia.
Vulnerable
“We want to restore this needed food assistance for children, for the very sick, and for the desperately poor, but we can only do this with the immediate and valued support of the international community.”
According to recent studies, progress towards food security has been made in Cambodia but this is measured against continuing widespread food insecurity and past famine and human catastrophe in the 1970s.
Cambodia "hunger hot spot"
According to the 2006 Global Hunger Index of the International Food Policy Research Institute, Cambodia is one of the 12 “hunger hot spot” countries listed as “extremely alarming”.
With nearly 35 percent of Cambodians living below the poverty line, Cambodia is classified as a least developed and low-income, food-deficit country.
High population growth, low agricultural productivity and poor access to health services continue to hamper progress in human development.
Contact us
Brenda Barton
Deputy Director
Communications
WFP/Rome
Tel. +39-06-65132602
Cell. +39-3472582217
(ISDN line available
brenda.barton@wfp.org
Paul Risley
WFP/Bangkok
Tel +66-2-6554115
Cell +66-1-7019208
paul.risley@wfp.org
Gregory Barrow
WFP/London
Tel. +44-20-72409001
Cell. +44-7968-008474
gregory.barrow@wfp.org
Christiane Berthiaume
WFP/Geneva
Tel. +41-22-9178564
Cell. +41-792857304
christiane.berthiaume@wfp.org
Cécile Sportis
WFP/Paris
Tel. +33-1-70385330
Cell. +33-6161-68266
cecile.sportis@wfp.org
Jennifer Parmelee
WFP/Washington
Tel. +1-202-6530010
Ext. 1149
Mob. +1-202-4223383
jennifer.parmelee@wfp.org
Bettina Luescher
WFP/New York
Tel. +1-212-9635196
Cell. +1-646-8241112
luescher@un.org
Source: WFP
WFP has warned that beginning next month more than 700,000 hungry Cambodians – mostly young children and HIV/AIDS and TB patients – will not receive essential food.
The situation is likely to worsen unless new donations are received soon.
“We are very grateful to donors for generously supporting this operation thus far, but the money is now running out. Cambodia is one of the world’s poorest countries, and these people rely on WFP’s help to keep them coming to school and getting HIV and TB treatment,” said James Morris, Executive Director of WFP.
Drug resistant TB
Those affected include some 650,000 children on school feeding programmes, as well as 70,000 people affected by HIV/AIDS and 18,000 TB patients.
"There is a chronic and persistent food insecurity situation in Cambodia," said Dr Peter Piot, Executive Director of UNAIDS. "Food and nutrition are an essential part of the package of care for people receiving treatment for AIDS and efforts must be made to ensure that all people living with HIV have access to the food and nutrition they need."
What is especially dangerous from a health perspective is the development of drug-resistant variants of TB among patients who do not complete their treatment.
Food aid incentive
Food aid is a major incentive to draw patients to health posts and clinics and receive a full course of treatment.
Those who fail to complete the course may well become incubators for new types of TB that threaten society at large.
Treatment of such cases, moreover, can cost up to 100 times as much as the original medication.
Since October 2006, a funding shortage has forced WFP to progressively reduce rations to beneficiaries, cutting the number of Cambodians eligible for assistance, and delaying the distribution of food to those who need it the most.
Diminishing donor support
WFP now needs at least US$10 million to distribute some 18,000 metric tons of food aid to 1.1 million Cambodians until July 2007.
Donor support for the agency’s relief programme in Cambodia has diminished alarmingly since 2005.
“Hundreds of thousands of children in Cambodia count on the nutritious meal provided to them by the World Food Programme,” said Thomas Keusters, WFP Country Director in Cambodia.
Vulnerable
“We want to restore this needed food assistance for children, for the very sick, and for the desperately poor, but we can only do this with the immediate and valued support of the international community.”
According to recent studies, progress towards food security has been made in Cambodia but this is measured against continuing widespread food insecurity and past famine and human catastrophe in the 1970s.
Cambodia "hunger hot spot"
According to the 2006 Global Hunger Index of the International Food Policy Research Institute, Cambodia is one of the 12 “hunger hot spot” countries listed as “extremely alarming”.
With nearly 35 percent of Cambodians living below the poverty line, Cambodia is classified as a least developed and low-income, food-deficit country.
High population growth, low agricultural productivity and poor access to health services continue to hamper progress in human development.
Contact us
Brenda Barton
Deputy Director
Communications
WFP/Rome
Tel. +39-06-65132602
Cell. +39-3472582217
(ISDN line available
brenda.barton@wfp.org
Paul Risley
WFP/Bangkok
Tel +66-2-6554115
Cell +66-1-7019208
paul.risley@wfp.org
Gregory Barrow
WFP/London
Tel. +44-20-72409001
Cell. +44-7968-008474
gregory.barrow@wfp.org
Christiane Berthiaume
WFP/Geneva
Tel. +41-22-9178564
Cell. +41-792857304
christiane.berthiaume@wfp.org
Cécile Sportis
WFP/Paris
Tel. +33-1-70385330
Cell. +33-6161-68266
cecile.sportis@wfp.org
Jennifer Parmelee
WFP/Washington
Tel. +1-202-6530010
Ext. 1149
Mob. +1-202-4223383
jennifer.parmelee@wfp.org
Bettina Luescher
WFP/New York
Tel. +1-212-9635196
Cell. +1-646-8241112
luescher@un.org
10 comments:
This is how my mother told me (many pictures she took). My mother volunteered for a few months took leave without paid to help the poor and the orphan kids while those least educated and most brutal are in power robbing the nation getting richer. Very sad indeed. The only one thing we at outside can do is to help at least feeding one child per day which I am doing (feeding 4 kids/day) until they can go to college. If they do very well they will get a full scholarship to come to the US to study.
Right now they are doing so well in school, I'm so happy for them and for my help just 4 dollar/day for these 4 students.
My help is being directed to those 4 students.
I know if each of Khmer in the foreign countries all do that Khmer kids will be many more educated rising.
I am strongly for education, I am investing on it for a newer generation although I am one of the new generation, because education will help to free our ignorance and at least help to ease the sufferings.
GOD SAVE & BLESS CAMBODIA
and Bless Her People and free them from sufferings.
Error, I meant to say:
"My help is going directly to those 4 students."
I apprecriated yours and your family
help, mo28, but it is not right to
blames all the leaders for stealing
everything. Sure there are some
crooks, but a vast majority is
working very hard to better the
life of everyone, and they are
sick and tired of hearing your
accusations.
Get real, there a bad apples in all
apple three, dude.
You dude, but top dig is a crook and you say can good one survive under his shit?
Take Ah Xen out the goverment may chance to good!
How about Ah DY? and ah Ahn? and ah Khagharith, ah Meassophea, ah Kim and so on and on and on
After all these years, AH HUN SEN Vietcong slave suppose to bring the peace and prosperity to Cambodia and now Cambodia is going through hunger?? AH HUN SEN Vietcong slave don't have to lie to the world or Cambodian people!!!
The whole world is talking about Cambodian hunger and I wonder what does AH HUN SEN Vietcong slave has anything to say about this desperate situation in Cambodia!!!
I would rather die by a bullet than to die by hunger!!!!Hunger is the most painful and a very slow way to die for any human being to experience!!!I was once almost die of hunger!!
Well, we tried, but your Khmer
Krom Extremist people keep on
stealing all their foods from
them to make them suffer and
blamed everything on innocent
and hard-working Vietnamese
people.
You lied 11:13 AM.
This is too cruel to lie that the victims are xtremist and that those victims KK are being fed enough? Look@ Khmer Surin and in Isane, they're allowed to have higher education, more than enough food to eat and they are fine. You lied for saying KK are being treated like Khmer Surin.
Hey, in case you haven't noticed it
Vietnam is about 10 times poorer
than Thailand. A poor Khmer Surin,
is much better than a Viet high-middle-class.
In general Viet is much poorer than
Khmer Surin, How can they make KK
as rich as Khmer Surin? It is not
possible for Viet to make KK 10
times richer than themselves. Don't
hold your breath for that.
Viet eat dog!
Yummy!
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