Global Walk to End World Hunger

This Sunday, thousands of people around the globe will join the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) and its major corporate partners, TNT, Unilever and DSM, in a walk to raise awareness and money to feed hungry school children in some of the poorest countries in the world, according to a press release from the WFP.

“Walk the World comes at a time of unprecedented challenges for the hungry and the poor,” said Josette Sheeran, the Executive Director of WFP. “Children are suffering because food prices are still high in many developing countries, and the global financial crisis is now hitting family incomes hard,” the release stated.

“End Hunger: Walk the World” — an annual event now in its seventh year — will see people walking for hunger in 70 countries. It will begin in Australia with a climb up the Sydney Harbour Bridge and continue through all 24 time zones. It will be marked by pop concerts in Indonesia and traditional Maasai dances in Kenya, and will conclude on the Pacific Island of Samoa.

“In The Gambia, we will all gather once again on 7 June 2009 with families, friends, development partners and members of various communities to “Walk the World”.

The release stated that the venue would be North Bank Region, starting at 10: 00hrs from Saaba Lower Basic School to Kerewan Lower Basic School.

The release stated that it costs WFP just 20 Euro cents to provide a nutritious meal to a child at school. School feeding programmes also give parents an extra incentive to keep their children in school, and help to lay a healthy foundation for a better future for the young.

“End Hunger — Walk the World, provides a powerful demonstration of public support for WFP’s fight against hunger, with employees from the three supporting companies walking together with friends and family, as well as celebrities and local dignitaries, and WFP employees. In some countries, children who have benefited from the WFP school-feeding programme will also walk in solidarity.

This year, there is also an online walk at wfp.org/walktheweb. People are invited to make a donation online; each Euro or local currency equivalent is counted as a mile walked. The objective is to go the 25,000 miles around the world. Donors can upload a photo to join the crowd of walkers on the web page, and to show that they’ve taken a virtual step to end hunger,” it stated.

WFP is the world’s largest humanitarian agency and the UN’s frontline agency for hunger solutions. In 2009, WFP aims to feed 105 million people in 74 countries.

TNT is a global mail and express Delivery Company serving more than 200 countries. Since 2002, they have been an active partner of WFP and to date have invested over $50 million in the partnership. TNT founded Walk the World in 2003 as an engagement event for its employees.

Unilever is one of the world’s leading suppliers of fast-moving consumer goods with strong local roots in more than 100 countries across the globe. Unilever joined forces with WFP in January 2007 for a three-year partnership to improve the nutrition and health of the poor and school-aged children around the world.

DSM is a life sciences and material sciences company. In April 2007, DSM and WFP joined forces to ensure that the nutritional needs of WFP beneficiaries are met through the creation of cost-effective micronutrient interventions so as to improve the general food basket.