Author: hunger

This is an announcement shared by The Hunger Project Global Office.

The Hunger Project is thrilled to announce the appointment of Tim Prewitt, an international executive with more than 25 years of experience in the development and private sector, as President and CEO. Tim brings a deep commitment to community development, gender equity and empowering people living in extreme poverty.

“As we face the devastating effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, there is an urgency to take a major step up in our work to end hunger and poverty,” said Sheree Stomberg, Chair of the Global Board of Directors. “Tim is the right leader to bring The Hunger Project’s sustainable solutions — solutions that are grounded in human dignity, gender equality, social transformation, and inclusion—to a breakthrough level of impact.” 

Tim has worked in more than 30 countries across Africa, Asia and Eastern Europe. During his tenure as CEO of iDE from 2012-2019, he led the organisation to greater impact, financial growth and global recognition. Prior to joining iDE, Tim worked in Nigeria with farmers, the private sector, and the Nigerian government to increase farmer income and farm yields, leading to an impact on more than a million farmers and a UN World Business Development Award. He also served as Regional Director for Asia and as head of the Private Sector Practice for Chemonics International.

“I am thrilled to join such a dynamic community committed to the end of hunger, and I am excited to learn more and build on the great work The Hunger Project is known for globally. We have a tremendous opportunity to amplify our sustainable solutions and drive new levels of impact around the world,” shared Tim. 

A highly regarded speaker on agriculture, poverty, and economic development, Tim has spoken at the World Economic Forum’s Grow Africa Initiative, Clinton Global Initiative, and World Food Prize, and is the author of the forthcoming book, Table for Ten Billion, which chronicles the efforts of farmers, policy makers, companies and communities around the world in feeding our planet. He is a Fulbright Fellow and holds an MBA from China-Europe International Business School (CN), and Master’s and Bachelor’s degrees in Sociology from the New School (USA) and Lancaster University (UK). 

“The time is now for bold action,” said Sheree. “With Tim’s leadership, together we can create the breakthroughs needed to create a world of self-reliance and dignity for all.”

Tim officially joins The Hunger Project on February 1 and will be based out of THP’s Global Office in New York. Acting CEO Lisa North will resume her role as Chief Operating Officer.

Daisy Owomugasho, Regional Director of The Hunger Project Uganda, wrote the following article that was featured in Uganda’s leading newspaper, ‘The Newvision’.

I believe that there has never been a moment in time more important than today when all forms of community systems are being called upon to rise up and protect our children, especially the girls, from any form of abuse. As we continue the fight against COVID-19, it is everybody’s call to ensure that we do not lose the gains we have laboured so much to realise.

Since March, when schools were ordered to close, we have seen an increase in cases of child marriage in different parts of the country. Prior to the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, Uganda was struggling, but working steadily in its efforts to deliver on a number of international obligations regarding sexual and reproductive health among girls and young boys.

The closure of schools in March as a result of COVID-19 was a good intervention, but it also had a big impact in the area of sexual and reproductive health for girls mainly. Schools play a very big role in protecting girls from a lot of sexually related crimes that are ever present in our communities.

According to the UN and our own observations at The Hunger Project Uganda, if girls were to be allowed to complete the entire primary and secondary education cycle in school, this alone reduces their chances of catching HIV by 50%. Staying in school further insulates the girls from many other sexual and reproductive health situations such as early marriage, domestic violence and all other forms of abuse. Schools, therefore, indirectly contribute to more than 70% of the girl’s chances of a healthy and productive future.

UNFPA estimates that the total effect of the COVID-19 pandemic could mean approximately 13 million additional child marriages globally. This means as a country we need to scale up efforts in building and providing safety for girls. Now that schools are closed, the responsibility of keeping our children safe, especially the girls, has shifted to the communities. Unfortunately, information that has been received regarding the first few months of the girls being at home shows that communities have not been doing a good job.

Since March, when schools were ordered to close, we have seen an increase in cases of child marriage in different parts of the country. We have seen an increase in all forms of abuse targeting the girls such as rape and defilement. Suddenly, the number of new HIV infections among young people has also started to rise again.

For years, The Hunger Project Uganda has invested a lot in building strong community systems that work to protect girls from any form of abuse, including early marriages. We have a vibrant network of community animators with local knowledge that are able to identify such abuses when they occur. The community animators also act as early warning systems against any form of abuse likely to happen to any girl.

Communities have intelligence and are usually in the know regarding what families may be planning to do. When such abuses are identified, the necessary interventions are done to ensure that the girls are protected. I, therefore, believe that there has never been a moment in time more important than today when all forms of community systems are being called upon to rise up and protect our children, especially girls, from any form of abuse.

There are some good community innovations we can borrow from; a case in point is the community of Kalamba sub-county in the Butambala district. As a way of dealing with the rampant cases of child marriage in their area, the local community with support from The Hunger Project Uganda and area leaders mobilised and adopted a community bylaw through their local council.

The bylaw gives communities the power to detect and prevent any form of child marriage by identifying and shaming individuals who continue to engage in this form of abuse. Communities work closely with all local enforcement agencies, including the Police to ensure that cases are thoroughly investigated and victims are protected throughout. As we continue the fight against COVID-19, it is everybody’s call to ensure that we do not lose the gains we have laboured so much to realise. The responsibility of keeping our girls safe from any harm should never be left to schools alone.

In order to contribute to attaining the global development goals, specifically goals 1, 2, 3, 4, 5,10 and 17, The Hunger Project Uganda through its Women Empowerment programme, is implementing Her Choice Project that seeks to create child marriage-free communities in 9 districts of Uganda and safe choices for deaf girls in Mbale. Through gender-focused community-led development (GFCLD), The Hunger Project Uganda has invested significantly in building the capacity of girls, both in and out of school, to participate in decision-making processes through peer clubs.

The Hunger Project Uganda has also built and supported community systems and structures to provide an enabling environment for girls to thrive and reach their full potential Communities should rise up and be safe zones for all our children during this pandemic. We are continuing with our advocacy of ensuring safe places for our girls.

In the Machakel region of northeastern Ethiopia, the grass grows well and the hills are green during the rainy season. However, there was also significant soil erosion on the hills. Due to the erosion, deep channels stripped of vegetation were worn into the otherwise green landscape. Almost all of the native forest on the hills was cut down and the soil was depleted, resulting in crop failures and food insecurity.

Since 2017, The Hunger Project Ethiopia and WeForest have been working together to fight erosion in the area. WeForest is an organisation that empowers communities to sustainably advance and implement lasting solutions to restore forest landscapes.

“Population pressure has increased. Large areas of forest have been cut to create more agricultural land. As a result, the soil isn’t retained as well. Because of climate change, the rains are getting heavier — large areas of land simply wash away,” says Dr Aklilu, Forestry Expert at WeForest.

“WeForest has a lot of expertise in forest planting and forest management. The Hunger Project is strong in engaging and mobilising the community. This is desperately needed because we need action from our village partners in the area. It is ultimately in the interest of the people themselves that erosion is tackled, and we want to achieve that together,” he says.

Our village partners in Machakel play a crucial role in the collaboration, contributing with:

1. Land – they make communal land available for forest planting, instead of grazing cattle
2. Time – they unite in committees, assist in planting seedlings and protecting plants
3. Selection of trees – instead of planting popular, exotic trees such as eucalyptus, they now plant protected, native trees

“The most important thing for me is that we create a better living environment for all of us and counteract the effects of climate change. The children that I will probably have [in the future], must also be able to live here” – Gizachen Buyu, The Hunger Project village partner.

Now, grass has regrown to knee height and trees have grown where erosion channels used to be. The countryside has recovered.

AS OF DECEMBER 2019:

• Seedlings were grown in three nurseries in the region
• Our village partners formed 60 farmer committees
• 530 hectares of community land was made available for forest and planting (where previously it had been used for livestock grazing)
• More than 1 million trees have been planted
• Farmers have planted 735,000 fruit trees and fruit-bearing shrubs on their own land so that 270 hectares of land is now used for agroforestry

Invest in a sustainable future and food security for families here.

The Norwegian Nobel Committee has named the World Food Programme (WFP) the recipient of the 2020 Nobel Peace Prize. As David Beasley, Executive Director of WFP, said in a statement following the award, “Today is a reminder that food security, peace and stability go together. Without peace, we cannot achieve our global goal of zero hunger; and while there is hunger, we will never have a peaceful world.”

Over the last five years, global hunger has steadily increased, driven largely by conflict and environmental shocks. And now, the global COVID-19 pandemic threatens to push 130 million more people into hunger by the end of 2020.

“We salute the Nobel Committee for highlighting the issue of world hunger, and congratulate our partners at the World Food Programme,” said Sheree Stomberg, Chair of The Hunger Project’s Global Board of Directors. “It is critical that the world community step up our efforts and invest the resources needed to end hunger.”

“We have seen that when community members work together to achieve development goals, they become stronger, more resilient and more peaceful. This is the key to sustainable change,” said Stomberg.

Hunger is rooted in deeply entrenched conditions of inequality, conflict, corruption and climate change. We at The Hunger Project work in partnership with local communities to implement solutions that are sustainable, multi-sectoral, and community-led, to catalyze systemic change throughout governance structures and society.

We are glad the Norwegian Nobel Committee turned the world’s attention to the importance of ending hunger through this award. Let this recognition kickstart a decade of action and global commitment toward ending hunger.

Originally published by The Hunger Project.

 

Hunger and poverty create the perfect storm for a disaster to take hold, and this has been proven throughout the pandemic. In India, the number of recorded COVID-19 cases has surpassed 5 million. There have been over 1 million cases across Africa, and more than 300,000 in Bangladesh. However, with inadequate testing and few health facilities, these numbers are likely to be much higher in reality, and the task of stopping the spread is much more challenging. The Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) estimates that the pandemic will force an additional 83 to 132 million people to live in hunger every day (read more about the link between hunger and COVID-19 here).

In the face of COVID-19, the core tenets of The Hunger Project’s work are as relevant as ever and have set us up in the best possible position to respond. Our long-term work promoting local leadership, strong systems, and resilience are all critical as communities navigate the health, economic and social impacts of COVID-19. The very model we work within enables our village partners to proactively respond to the virus and the lasting effects of the lockdown.  

The following are just two excellent examples from Uganda and Ghana on how innovation and creativity have been unleashed: 

Firstly, meet Irene Sara from Uganda: 

“From the trainings by The Hunger Project, I learnt that food can be stored for a long time. During times of scarcity…I am [now] food secure.” 

In this video, hear how she has achieved food security for herself and her family and is able to earn an income even during the pandemic.  

Secondly, meet a group of young women in Ghana: 

“When the COVID-19 pandemic set in, the country was short of…masks. Most of them were imported… When the situation got worse, we decided to mobilise people using locally-made materials. This has improved access and usage [for the community].” 

In this video, hear how the THP-Ghana team adapted their skills-training workshops during COVID-19 so that young women – many who have had to drop out of school because of pregnancy due to child marriage – learn dressmaking and earn an income to support themselves. 

 

Want to learn more? 

You can find out about our COVID-19 framework for action and what we’ve achieved so far in stopping the spread of COVID-19 in THP communities here.  

Make an impact today

So many of you have already generously invested during COVID-19 — thank you! Both our regular programs and COVID-19 initiatives are ongoing, so your investment today will continue to enable people to protect themselves and their families, and also lift themselves out of hunger and poverty. Reach out to 16.5 million people living in THP communities in Africa, India and Bangladesh by donating here.