UN sets up task force to tackle food crisis

New York – Rabi Al Akher 23 1429/ April 29, 2008 – The United Nations Secretary General, Ban Ki-moon, is setting up a task force to tackle the global food crisis. Ban said the world faced "widespread hunger, malnutrition and social unrest on an unprecedented scale" because of soaring food prices. He said the priority was to feed the hungry by closing a $755 million funding gap for the UN's World Food Programme (WFP) this year. He urged donor countries to make more money available now.

The WFP believes 100 million people are currently going short of food. It says only 62% of the $755m it needs to feed them has been pledged so far, and, of that, only $18m (£9m) has actually been received.

HA/IINA

www.islamicnews.org