MARCH 2010 VOLUME 2 ISSUE 3

United Nations World Food Programme, 2 Poorvi Marg, Vasant Vihar, New Delhi – 110 057. Tel: +91 11 46554000 , www.wfp.org

Deharadun: A two-day work-shop on climate change adapta-tion practices was organised jointly by WFP and the Govern-ment of Uttarakhand on February 4 and 5 to help agriculture-dependent communities adapt to climate change. Uttarakhand’s Rural Develop-ment minister Vijaya Barthwal inaugurated the workshop and said, “Our partnership with WFP has helped strengthen the supple-mentary nutrition programme under the Integrated Child De-velopment Scheme and the Mid-day meal scheme in primary schools”. Nearly half (47.2 per cent) of Uttarakhand’s population live below the poverty line and the majority are located in hilly

areas more prone to climate change than the plains. Uttarakhand’s Agriculture Min-ister Trivendra Singh Rawat spoke of the need to protect ar-able land in the state from degra-dation. He said, “Building resil-ience against climate change is a prime concern for our govern-ment. We are aware of the chal-lenges and are committed to-wards the welfare of the poor.” WFP Representative Mihoko Tamamura said, “WFP has a track record in addressing hunger resulting from weather and climate related phenomena, and we welcome the chance to share some innovative approaches we have developed with governments and other partners.” On the agenda for the workshop

were different adaptation strategies aimed at countering the effects of climate change.The workshop has recommended Vulnerability Assessment and Mapping in the state for which

WFP has already drafted a list of food security indicators vis-a-vis climate change. This will be shared at an upcoming conference of Chief Ministers of Himalayan States next month.

WFP PARTNERS WITH STATE GOVERNMENT TO COMBAT CLIMATE CHANGE

New Delhi: An expert consulta-tion on the State of Food Inse-curity in Urban India was or-ganized on February 25 to dis-cuss the draft Food Security Atlas of Urban India jointly prepared by WFP and MS Swa-minathan Research Foundation. Prominent participants included Dr. C Chandramouli, Registrar General & Census Commis-sioner of India, Mr. Mukesh Khullar, Jt Secy, Ministry of Agriculture, Dr. F. Ram, Direc-tor, International Institute for Population Sciences, Supreme Court Commissioner Dr. NC Saxena and Principal Advisor, Right to Food Campaign Dr. Biraj Patnaik, among others. Prof. Swaminathan presided over the consultation. He said the draft atlas provided an up-date of urban food insecurity as well as key recommendations for action. He also mentioned that neglecting strategies for increased production and

increasing prices have long term impact on food security. The consultation highlighted some of the larger urban food insecu-rity issues including migration stress, quality of services, im-pact on the vulnerable, legal status of the slums and strate-gies to address these issues.

Rural Development Minister Vijaya Barthwal addressing the workshop

Experts brainstorm on food insecurity in urban India Mundra: Iraqi refugees in Syria will soon receive 643 metric tonnes of fortified bis-cuits rich in micronutrients as part of WFP’s food assistance to them. These biscuits have been manufactured in India through a gener-ous donation from the Government of India. The first lot of biscuits sailed off from the port in Mundra in Gujarat on February 10.

FORTIFIED BISCUITS FOR IRAQI REFUGEES

A port worker with boxes of biscuits

Bhopal: School students who wrote essays about innovative strategies to fight hunger in India were awarded in a ceremony by WFP Deputy Country Director Matthew Mcilvenna on February 23. The essay-writing competition was organised by WFP to mark World Food Day, 2009 and attracted submissions from 299 students in grades nine to twelve from 8 schools within the Bhopal Region. The competition was designed to promote understanding about hunger and malnutrition.

The essays were judged by Prof. Seema Raizada, Nutan College, Bhopal. All participants received a t-shirt and certificate. The prizes were sponsored by the Britannia Nutrition Foundation.

Students awarded for ideas on tackling hunger

The winners with the WFP team

L to R: WFP Representative Mihoko Tamamura, MSSRF head Prof Swami-nathan and exec director Ajay Parida

Dr C Chandramouli Dr N C Saxena