Global walk to end child hunger

As part of the global walk to end child hunger the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) in Colombo and its partner TNT global provider of express, logistics and mail services, are teaming up for a second consecutive year - to show how one collective footstep can transform the lives of the world's poorest children, states a WFP press release.

On Sunday, June 12, 2005, more than 200,000 people - WFP and TNT staff, partners, families and friends are expected to join in the battle against child hunger and walk five kilometres (just over three miles) in over 90 countries across 24 time zones.

Last year's first 'Walk the World' event raised enough money in 72 countries to fund meals for over 30,000 schoolchildren in the developing world. This year 'Fight Hunger: Walk the World' a global advocacy and fund raising event, aims to raise over 2 million Euros (or more than US $ 2.5 million) for WFP's global school feeding programme, moving one step closer to permanently eradicating child hunger.

In over 200 cities, the event will remind people of the heartrending fact that in a world which produces more than enough food for everyone, some 18,000 children die of hunger daily. Another 300 million children suffer chronic hunger; 100 million do not attend school.

Beginning at 10 a.m. in Auckland, New Zealand WFP and TNT - with the help of a wide variety of private and public partners, celebrities and public figures - are walking the world - from Sydney to Santiago, from Moscow to Los Angeles - in order to put the spotlight on hunger, which kills a child every 5 seconds.

In Sri Lanka, last year's 'Walk the World' event raised US $ 3,000 which is being used to support WFP's 'meals in school' programme. WFP is continuously expanding the 'meals in schools' programme since 2003 and presently feeds 171,000 children in about 700 schools. The school feeding programme is now being extended to tsunami-affected children as well, to encourage their return to and active participation in school.

WFP is encouraging those wishing to step in and 'Fight Hunger: Walk the World' either by joining a walk, pledging money to participants, or donating money through www.fighthugner.org. `WFP's global school feeding project which last year provided one meal a day to 16.6 million primary schoolchildren in 72 countries, aims to reach 50 million in 2007. All too often children - particularly girls - are deprived of education because their families cannot afford to send their children to school. Yet educating girls is one of the best ways of escaping the cycle of poverty and hunger.