In 1985, American analyst Jonathan Pollard was arrested for sending classified information to the Israeli government. He was given a life sentence, marking the first time in U.S. history that a life sentence was given for spying for an ally of the United States.
Now, Israeli President, Shimon Peres, is traveling to Washington, D.C. where the issue of Pollard’s release will be front and center. Officially, Peres is going to receive the Congressional Gold Medal as well as the 2014 Lantos Human Rights Prize. In addition, he has promised to meet with President Obama about the prospect of releasing Pollard, who has been imprisoned in America for nearly three decades.
One of the organizers of the movement to free Pollard, Efi Lahav, implored President Peres to lobby President Obama during his trip, stating that, “We believe your upcoming visit to the U.S. is the most serious opportunity yet to release Jonathan Pollard.”
Previous talks to release the convicted spy have fallen through at the last minute, and this trip may prove to be the final opportunity to strike a deal. Pollard is up for parole in 2015. His release could be part of a larger prisoner swap in which Palestinian prisoners would be released by Israel.
However, those talks fell short in the past. Instead of using Pollard as a bargaining chip, President Obama could also free him as a humanitarian gesture that would reaffirm ties with Israel. Whatever Obama decides, it is certain that the issue of Pollard’s release will be broached by Peres.
The day before Peres left for the U.S., he met with Pollard’s wife where he claimed that, “It is a national responsibility to work to free Pollard, I will speak to the President of the United States on behalf of the people of Israel. I intend to do this during my meetings in Congress and at the White House.”
On top of that, Peres will also deliver a speech to Congress, thus giving him another opportunity to exert influence in Washington.
While Peres will no doubt be pleased with his prestigious awards, the focus of the trip will certainly be Pollard.
Pollard was once a candidate for a CIA graduate fellowship, but was turned down due to a history of emotional instability and drug usage. He eventually landed a position as an analyst at the Navy’s Anti-terrorist Alert Center where Pollard had access to a wealth of classified intelligence information.
As a lifelong sympathizer of Israel who had dreams of eventually emigrating, he was easily talked into becoming an Israeli spy. In 1984, Pollard was contacted by a family friend in Israel who set up a meeting with his eventual handler. Shortly after, Pollard began handing over documents in bulk.
During the course of his 17-month spying career, Pollard leaked over 800 highly classified documents.
After a co-worker noticed Pollard accessing classified documents without authorization, the FBI became suspicious of Pollard. Spooked, Pollard attempted to seek refuge at the Israeli embassy in D.C., but he was turned away. He was arrested shortly after.
What happens next remains to be seen. Over the next few days, Pollard could be released in a deal that would help to deescalate the Israeli Palestinian conflict. President Obama could also opt for the humanitarian route and free Pollard with no strings attached. Whatever happens, Pollard’s usefulness as a bargaining chip is quickly running out, and President Peres’ trip to D.C. will likely be a decisive turning point on the matter.
While the official purpose of the visit is to honor Peres’ past accomplishments as a human rights leader, the true reason for the trip could have humanitarian implications that extend far into the future.
– Sam Hillestad
Sources: Jewish Press, CNN, USA Today, Jerusalem Post
Photo: The Algemeiner
The Fight for Feminism in China
In an attempt to raise awareness about the overall inequality women in China face, various groups have been performing an assortment of “stunts” in the hopes to provoke a positive response in favor of feminism in China.
Within the past few years, displays have included women wearing wedding dresses covered in red in an effort to stand up to domestic violence, disapproving of the lack of female facilities by participating in “Occupy the Men’s Toilets” and shaving their heads to address the more demanding requirements women need to meet to attend college.
While feminism is not as widespread in China as some of these activists would like, it is by no means a new movement. In the 19th and 20th centuries, women such as Lin Zongsu fought for female suffrage and women such as Qiu Jin wrote and spoke out about the practice of footbinding and the limited education of young girls.
Li Mizai explains to a Guardian reporter that despite the plethora of past feminist figures the activists use for inspiration, “gender discrimination is getting worse.”
Only two women serve on the politiburo and “the proportion of women on the party’s 200-strong central committee has slipped to less than 5 percent, lower than in Mao’s day.” Less than a fifth of land use contacts are in or include the name of the wife, and in 2011 rights to marital property were legally reduced. Moreover, the percentage of urban working women has decreased from 77 percent to 61 percent in the past two decades.
Part of the discrimination starts at birth, and while the gender gap has decreased in the past two years, there are still 118 male births for every 100 female births.
Interviewee Xiao Men comments that although sex discrimination is illegal in the work place, companies are unlikely to receive legal punishment for such actions. She comments that “when women face discrimination they don’t fight against it because they weren’t raised this way, and even if they try to, they don’t know how to do it. I think all women know something’s wrong, but they don’t know what it is or why.”
Activists, however, have not been discouraged thus far, and keep advocating for women’s equality across the country by trying to make women recognize their right to advocate for themselves.
– Jordyn Horowitz
Sources: The Guardian 1, The Guardian 2, The Guardian 3, Wall Street Journal
Photo: Global Times
Using EDM to Fight Global Poverty
Philanthropist Hugh Evans, co-founder of the Oaktree Foundation and Global Poverty Project, organized an electronic dance music festival on June 26 named the Thank You Festival. This benefit show is working to engage the millennial generation in the fight against global poverty.
The show will feature one of the most popular electronic DJs in the world, Tiesto, as well as Above and Beyond and a Maryland local electronic DJ by the name of Alvin Risk. The festival will utilize a 15-foot inflatable toilet to bring awareness to water and sanitation issues around the world. Electronic dance festivals, which are commonly associated with drug use and experimentation, may not seem an ideal place to speak about global poverty.
However, Evans notes that to reach the millennial generation it has to be done through the people they listen to, in this case through electronic dance artists. His previous work with the Make Poverty History concert in Melbourne, Australia was highly successful. The concert, which occurred simultaneously with the G20 meeting, was responsible for Australia doubling its foreign aid efforts. Other concerts Evans has been involved with include the 2012 Global Citizen Festival for which Evans secured the Great Lawn in Central Park, N.Y. The New York festival also occurred simultaneously with another international meeting, this time of the United Nations General Assembly.
The concert raised $1.3 billion in programs to aid the global poor. The June 26 concert is aimed at getting the United States to continue its aid efforts for child survival services as well as double the U.S. government’s funding of the Global Partnership for Education, which would total $40 million. Previous concert efforts of Evans have been associated with rock and pop music. This will be his first effort utilizing electronic dance music.
The festival will feature DJs, Evans and top U.S. Foreign Aid officials who will speak about the cause of eliminating extreme poverty and encourage fans to get involved. Tiesto expressed in an email that the festival provides a unique possibility to produce effective change. “I know that my fans are thoughtful, generous and caring and this festival is a great opportunity to show Washington D.C. what our community is really about.” The festival, which is partnered with Club Glow, the World Childhood Foundation, The Global Poverty Project and Global Citizen, will begin at 4 p.m. on June 26 at Merriweather Pavilion in Columbia, Md.
– Christopher Kolezynski
Sources: EDM, Spin, Washington Post
Photo: Oh So Fresh
Global Foreign Aid Reaches $22 Billion
The Development Initiatives research group reports that the total amount the world’s governments and private organizations spent on foreign assistance rose to $22 billion in 2013, the highest ever recorded. Private aid was $5.6 billion, an increase of over $1 billion from 2012, while government aid was $16.4 billion, about $3 billion higher than the amounts spent in the previous five years.
Most governments in developed countries considerably increased their international assistance spending last year. The United States in particular spent 18 percent more than it did in 2012 and contributed the most money of any country at $4.7 billion. Other countries, like Brazil and China, saw 97 percent and 84 percent drops in spending respectively, but most, including the United Kingdom, Japan, Canada and Germany, as well as the European Union governmental organizations, increased their foreign aid investments.
Why did governments increase their foreign aid spending so suddenly? Much of the aid increases occurred because of worsening violent conflicts and natural disasters around the globe. Much of the private aid increases went to help rebuild the Philippines after Typhoon Haiyan, while other aid went to help victims of clashes in South Sudan,the Central African Republic and Syria.
Syria in particular has received enormous support to help victims of the civil war. According to the World Bank, global aid to Syria increased from $335 million in 2011 to $1.67 billion in 2012, and that number continues to rise as more countries offer help. Turkey was the third-highest foreign aid donor after the U.S. and the UK because of its $1.6-billion effort to care for Syrian refugees. Even Kuwait, a small country not known for its foreign aid budget, raised so much money for Syria that its aid spending increased by 2,315 percent in 2013.
Despite this recent surge in funding, governments tended to concentrate their foreign aid spending on specific countries. The World Bank found that Afghanistan, the country receiving the most aid, got nearly $7 billion in 2012, but many countries in need received substantially less. “Just under a quarter of the total international humanitarian response went to the top five recipient countries, while other countries such as Nepal, Myanmar and Algeria continued to be de-prioritized,” said Dan Coppard, Development Initiatives’ director of research. World Bank data shows that Algeria received less than $200 million in 2012, while Nepal and Myanmar got less than $1 billion.
What does this new spending mean for long-term foreign aid policy? On one hand, it demonstrates that nations are willing to come together and offer help to suffering people. However, they responded to immediately visible natural disasters and conflicts, and there were many countries in need that received very little help. The desire to give foreign aid exists, but advocates must work to make issues requiring international development spending more visible and relevant to governments and their constituents.
– Ted Rappleye
Sources: The Guardian, The World Bank
Photo: NY Times
President Peres Hopes for Freedom for Pollard
In 1985, American analyst Jonathan Pollard was arrested for sending classified information to the Israeli government. He was given a life sentence, marking the first time in U.S. history that a life sentence was given for spying for an ally of the United States.
Now, Israeli President, Shimon Peres, is traveling to Washington, D.C. where the issue of Pollard’s release will be front and center. Officially, Peres is going to receive the Congressional Gold Medal as well as the 2014 Lantos Human Rights Prize. In addition, he has promised to meet with President Obama about the prospect of releasing Pollard, who has been imprisoned in America for nearly three decades.
One of the organizers of the movement to free Pollard, Efi Lahav, implored President Peres to lobby President Obama during his trip, stating that, “We believe your upcoming visit to the U.S. is the most serious opportunity yet to release Jonathan Pollard.”
Previous talks to release the convicted spy have fallen through at the last minute, and this trip may prove to be the final opportunity to strike a deal. Pollard is up for parole in 2015. His release could be part of a larger prisoner swap in which Palestinian prisoners would be released by Israel.
However, those talks fell short in the past. Instead of using Pollard as a bargaining chip, President Obama could also free him as a humanitarian gesture that would reaffirm ties with Israel. Whatever Obama decides, it is certain that the issue of Pollard’s release will be broached by Peres.
The day before Peres left for the U.S., he met with Pollard’s wife where he claimed that, “It is a national responsibility to work to free Pollard, I will speak to the President of the United States on behalf of the people of Israel. I intend to do this during my meetings in Congress and at the White House.”
On top of that, Peres will also deliver a speech to Congress, thus giving him another opportunity to exert influence in Washington.
While Peres will no doubt be pleased with his prestigious awards, the focus of the trip will certainly be Pollard.
Pollard was once a candidate for a CIA graduate fellowship, but was turned down due to a history of emotional instability and drug usage. He eventually landed a position as an analyst at the Navy’s Anti-terrorist Alert Center where Pollard had access to a wealth of classified intelligence information.
As a lifelong sympathizer of Israel who had dreams of eventually emigrating, he was easily talked into becoming an Israeli spy. In 1984, Pollard was contacted by a family friend in Israel who set up a meeting with his eventual handler. Shortly after, Pollard began handing over documents in bulk.
During the course of his 17-month spying career, Pollard leaked over 800 highly classified documents.
After a co-worker noticed Pollard accessing classified documents without authorization, the FBI became suspicious of Pollard. Spooked, Pollard attempted to seek refuge at the Israeli embassy in D.C., but he was turned away. He was arrested shortly after.
What happens next remains to be seen. Over the next few days, Pollard could be released in a deal that would help to deescalate the Israeli Palestinian conflict. President Obama could also opt for the humanitarian route and free Pollard with no strings attached. Whatever happens, Pollard’s usefulness as a bargaining chip is quickly running out, and President Peres’ trip to D.C. will likely be a decisive turning point on the matter.
While the official purpose of the visit is to honor Peres’ past accomplishments as a human rights leader, the true reason for the trip could have humanitarian implications that extend far into the future.
– Sam Hillestad
Sources: Jewish Press, CNN, USA Today, Jerusalem Post
Photo: The Algemeiner
Thailand Under Threat of US Aid Withdrawal
As of June 24, the United States announced the possibility of reducing U.S. foreign aid to the Kingdom of Thailand in response to the repressive military junta.
Typically, Thailand receives about $10.5 million in security-based aid from the U.S., and Washington, D.C. recently cut off $4.7 million from their long-time ally.
Another sign of high tensions between the two nations is the suggested removal of U.S. regional major exercises out of Southeast Asia. Since 1980, Thailand and the U.S. have participated in Cobra Gold, one of the biggest military exercises that also influences relations, together with about 13,000 participants from around the Southeast Asia region. It has not been confirmed whether the exercises will go on or be stopped.
The chair of the House Foreign Affairs subcommittee on Asia, Representative Steve Chabot, acknowledged the possible dangers of continuing with the exercises, stating it “could clearly send the wrong message” to Thailand and other global figures “in light of the repressive nature” of the military junta currently puppeteering the nation.
Levels of unrest are also extremely high in Thailand at the moment due to the intense regime in which the constitution has been suspended. This forces many repressed people to find other, more combative ways, to express the dissent with the junta. Should the U.S. get too deeply involved by keeping the military exercise in Thailand this year, there is a threat of long-term expenses and involvement not accounted for by the U.S.
The U.S. is not the only world power to acknowledge the danger Thailand is facing. The European Union also commented in a statement on June 23 that they condemn the junta, stating that a credible government should form “as a matter of urgency, the legitimate democratic process and the Constitution, through credible and inclusive elections.” The response from Thai spokesperson, Sek Wannamethee, explains the disappointment felt by the lack of support from the E.U. for not viewing the coup from all angles and seeing the supposedly measured reasoning on the part of the military.
This military coup stands out from the previous ones experienced in Thailand before due to the oppressive measures taken and the sense of permanency it holds. Should this continue, it is likely that the U.S., as well as other nations, will withdraw more security-based funds as the junta continues their reign.
– Elena Lopez
Sources: Channel News Asia, Bangkok Post, Wall Street Journal
Photo: Flickr
How to Help the Hungry
Helping those who suffer from malnutrition has become a lot easier in the 2010s, with advancements in modern technology.
Helping the hungry and needy can be as simple as clicking a button in the modern age. Funds and donations are one of the most important parts of helping the hungry worldwide along with volunteers and advocacy.
Using donations and monetary gifts, nonprofits are able to mobilize volunteers, some who work on the ground in impoverished areas and some who try to get their cause more well-known through advocacy.
Through the use of technology, including the Internet and social media, doing this has become much simpler. How to help the hungry and put an end to global poverty can be as simple as sending emails or tweets to representatives in government or radio stations.
Posting fliers is easier, spreading the word is easier, delivering food to hungry families is easier and even providing clean water is easier.
Posting fliers to raise awareness on social media can grab someone’s attention and if not the person for whom it was meant, then someone who is friends with them and can see it on their news feed.
Delivering food is made easier, especially in high risk areas through air drops and drones. Now cleaner water is within reach as well with technology that uses plasma to purify water as it is being brought up from a well.
There are also billboards and water tanks that collect water from the rain and humidity and purify it so people can have clean water to drink.
There are so many more ways to help the hungry than there has been in the past right now. But there are still hungry people in the world, struggling to get by on $1 or less per day. Hunger has increased in Africa by 153 percent in the last five years.
However, hunger is down in impoverished South American countries as well as in impoverished Asian nations because these nations see most of the technological advancements and learn to put them to good use.
It is rare for South African nations to see the same sort of technology and receive the same type of training other nations do in order to provide technologically advanced aid.
Much of the technology that is making it onto the market comes from South American inventors and nonprofits to help the impoverished, but as a nation stricken with poverty find it increasingly difficult to get their patents and designs to other nations in desperate need.
So, how do you help the hungry? Monetary gifts and food donations take little to no time at all; in addition, they help greatly with spreading knowledge and technological advancements in order to make fighting hunger, providing clean water and putting an end to global poverty much easier for generations to come.
– Cara Morgan
Sources: Feeding America, US News, WFP 1, WFP 2, World Hunger
Photo: Action Against Hunger
South Sudan Named Most Fragile Nation
In 2011, South Sudan split from Sudan. Consequently, Vice President Riek Machar was accused by President Salva Kiir of planning a coup and fighting began. Residents were forced to leave their homes as the fighting between the two factions worsened.
As a result of the mass killings and violence coupled with the unstable leadership, the Fund For Peace named South Sudan the most fragile nation in the world (bumping Somalia down the list after it held the top position for six years.)
The U.N. is appealing for around $1 billion in emergency humanitarian aid for South Sudan and has expressed concern that the horrendous fighting will worsen the famine and leave little hope of progress for the young generation of children.
The U.N.’s report asserts that without the aid, 50,000 children could die from malnutrition, food insecurity will persist, cholera will not be contained and there will be no real determined effort to combat the human rights violations that pervade the daily lives of those living in South Sudan.
According to The Guardian, the deputy special representative of the U.N. secretary general in South Sudan, Toby Lanzer, reports that “with many communities unable to farm or tend properly to their cattle, the risk of famine looms large. In some particularly hard to reach areas of the country, people are already starving.”
He continues by saying that while the more immediate goals of the emergency aid would be used to repair damage caused by the famine, the money would also be used to prevent future damage and to save lives. Ideally, it would be used to strengthen the younger generation by ensuring children are vaccinated, by providing counseling to help children deal with the aftermath of the violence, and by keeping schools open so that children can continue receiving a formal education.
Organizations such as Oxfam and the Famine Early Warning Systems Network (Fewsnet) have expressed support for the concerns conveyed by the U.N. All three organizations are in agreement that as South Sudan reaches the six-month mark for all the devastation, communities need to take further action to remedy the terrible, persisting situation in South Sudan.
– Jordyn Horowitz
Sources: CNN World, UNICEF, The Fund for Peace, The Guardian
International Day for Victims of Torture
This week marked the anniversary of the International Day in Support of Victims of Torture.
According to the United Nations, torture as a practice seeks “to annihilate the victim’s personality and denies the inherent dignity of the human being.”
The U.N. General Assembly adopted resolution 52/149 in December 1997, a resolution that proclaimed June 26 as the U.N. International Day in Support of Torture Victims. Believing torture to be “one of the vilest acts perpetrated by human beings on their fellow human beings,” the resolution maintains the intention to completely eradicate all torture measures and practices.
Torture practices used today include the controversial waterboarding, sleep deprivation, force feeding, electric shock and cold cell, among others. Rape, beatings and public sexual humiliation are also considered to be forms of torture as they are measures used to inflict pain upon other individuals. Countries, including the United States, continue to use enhanced interrogation techniques to obtain information from suspected criminals or terrorists. Many believe these techniques qualify as acts of torture.
“As we honor the victims on this International day, let us pledge to strengthen our efforts to eradicate this heinous practice,” U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said.
The U.N. Fund for Victims of Torture has assisted torture victims around the world. It provides direct assistance to torture victims — assistance that includes access to psychological and physical rehabilitation centers as well legal services.
While many countries do not make use of torture practices, 41 countries have not ratified the Convention Against Torture and thus allow and continue to use practices deemed to be inhuman by the U.N. In fact, Amnesty International’s 2013 Report stated that 112 of 159 countries practiced torture methods in 2012.
“Torture is an unequivocal crime,” U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights, Navi Pillay, said. “Neither national security nor the fight against terrorism, the threat of war, or any public emergency can justify its use,” Pillay said. “All States are obliged to investigate and prosecute allegations of torture and cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment, and they must ensure by every means that such practices are prevented.”
– Ethan Safran
Sources: allAfrica, United Nations, International Business Times, Human Rights Web, United Nations Human Rights, Dignity – Danish Institute Against Torture
Photo: Time and Date
Maternal and Child Health in Ethiopia
Just two years ago, in 2012, nearly 5 million children worldwide died before they reached their first birthday. Too many of those children were lost simply because they were born into nations without the necessary health infrastructure to attend to their basic medical needs. Lacking proper medical supplies, accessible health centers and proper prevention methods, developing nations are losing more mothers children than they must due to the fact that maternal and child health are intimately related.
One of these countries is Ethiopia, which in 2009 was rated one of the riskiest countries for childbirth, as one in 27 women died delivering their children. Though today that figure is still among the highest in the world – one in 67 women dies during childbirth in Ethiopia in 2014 – that the number has declined is representative of ongoing efforts both on the part of Ethiopia and on the part of international aid organizations to improve maternal and child health.
In a nation where 80 percent of mothers give birth at home without the help of a trained midwife or other health care worker, preventable death occurs frequently. Recognizing this situation, public health outreach in Ethiopia aimed at mothers and children has focused on giving them access to health centers that may be far away from rural areas where much of the population lives. Though there is still much to be done, this outreach has so far been incredibly successful, with Ethiopia accomplishing Millennium Development Goal #4, to reduce child death before age 5 by two-thirds by 2015, well ahead of schedule.
That achievement is sure to be followed by even more improvement in maternal and child health in Ethiopia, as the Ethiopian government has committed to training and stationing Health Extension Workers at critical places throughout rural Ethiopia as part of its Health Extension Plan. If this policy is successful, every Ethiopian will have access to a regional health center staffed by two knowledgeable Health Extension Workers, a larger nearby health center and a full-fledged hospital.
The government has realized not only the importance of accessible health care for its people, but also culturally-appropriate health care practices. Because Ethiopia is a large and diverse nation, attending to the many cultural preferences of its people is key to delivering the highest quality of care. ONE reported a case in which Ethiopian women were choosing to deliver at home rather than at a local health center because the birthing position at the health center made the women feel uneasy. After rectifying the birthing position, more women felt comfortable coming to the health center for pre- and post-natal care. Installing health centers is an admirable first step, but it will also be crucial to train health care workers to respect the culture of the local community.
Ethiopia is by no means a wealthy country – it is ranked among the poorest in the world – but despite widespread impoverishment, it has committed to taking care of its mothers and children and in the past several years has begun making strides toward that goal. Targeted international aid will only speed up the process of keeping every mother and child alive in Ethiopia.
— Elise L. Riley
Sources: ONE, Strong Women Strong World, WHO
Photo: IXMHD
Farming in Liberia and President Johnson-Sirleaf
Liberia’s war against hunger has become stagnant. President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, however, has a new and innovative battle tactic: one that requires getting your hands dirty.
Addressing the nation early last month, Johnson-Sirleaf, a farmer herself, encouraged her people to return to the soil. She called for collective action, urging all citizens to be proactive in the fight against hunger. She advocated for farm funding and support, but mostly for citizens to get outside and transform uninhabited lands within their communities into small gardens and farms. Farming in Liberia could help fight the epidemic of hunger the country has faced.
Liberia has endured a long and grisly history marked by colonialism and civil war. In 2005, after years of military rule and prolonged conflict, the country hosted its first democratic elections, installing Johnson-Sirleaf as the first elected female head of state in Africa. The country, however, has remained fraught by years of political and economic instability. According to WFP, it is classified as both a least-developed nation and a low-income food-deficit country. Among other issues, food poverty and food insecurity are particularly high. In 2012, the government-led Comprehensive Food Security and Nutrition Survey found that every fifth household in Liberia is food insecure.
Amid turmoil and despair, Johnson-Sirleaf has remained committed to her nation. She has recently launched the System of Rice Intensification, a new method of rice planting that will increase rice production and further help to provide food to local people. Developed in Madagascar by the French Jesuit Henri de Laulanie, SRI is an innovation that changes the conventional practices of rice growing. It consists of producing rice with less seeds, water and fertilizers in a soil rich in organic matter and well ventilated. In practice, this method will produce more rice with less material, therefore feeding more people at a lower cost.
Johnson-Sirleaf also has support from The Community of Hope Agricultural Project (CHAP.) Established in 2008, CHAP is a faith-based entity that seeks to reduce hunger and provide jobs throughout Liberia by training local farmers, youth and women, and providing them with basic farm tools and equipment to increase their productivity. With tools and ground support, Johnson-Sirleaf’s vision will soon be materialized.
A representative of the Farmer’s Union Network claims that agriculture is the most fundamental component of democracy. Without an adequate and sizable food supply, a country cannot sustain its population and must surrender a piece of its independence to foreign influences. By encouraging sustainability through individual efforts and government funding, Liberia is on its way to self-sufficiency and a stable republic.
— Samantha Scheetz
Sources: WAAPP Liberia, Africa, World Food Programme, allAfrica
Photo: Telegraph