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World Food Programme - India the food aid arm of the United Nations |
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International Women's
Day 2000 - Media Coverage 14 March 2000, National Herald, New
Delhi, India Empowering women through eradication of poverty By P.N. Tiku NEW DELHI, (NPA) - The United
Nations World Food Programme has renewed its commitment to ensure "women's
well-being and their empowerment" through eradicating hunger and
poverty. Hunger and poverty affects women
and men disproportionately both in conflict and more peaceful
circumstances. WFP's commitment to improve the condition of women is
based on the fundamental premise that strengthening opportunities and options
for women is the key to solving the problem of hunger and poverty. "When we target women with
food aid, we inevitably build household food security. Women control
the distribution of food within households. We want to build on that
role and use it to feed children and to create or strengthen economic
development", says Mr. Pedro Medrano, Regional Manager for WFP in South
Asia in New Delhi. Founded in 1963 as the food arm of
the United Nations, WFP is the world's largest international food aid
organization, serving in 84countries. WFP assists Governments in
mobilising complementary support activities accessible to women such as
projects to promote functional literacy, diversification of skills, savings
schemes, acquisition of land, credit and production of higher valued and
marketable products. WFP has invested about $24 billion
and more than 43 million tons of food to combat hunger, promote economic and
social development, and provide relief assistance in emergencies throughout
the world. It commits 60 per cent of country programme resources to target
women an girls in countries which show serious disadvantages for women
compared to men (25 per cent) as reflected in basic economic and social
development indicators. For India, WFP has provided more
than $1 billion in food and development assistance since 1963. During
1998, it generated $2.9 million for development activities. After the
Beijing Declaration in 1995, it spelt out the commitments in India through
its strategy called "Enabling Development" which takes gender into
consideration in its five strategic areas: health and nutrition, education
and training, asset creation, disaster mitigation and sustainable livelihoods
in degraded natural resource environments. Over the years, WFP's more
than 70 development projects have included supplementary feeding and
supported forestry, livestock and dairy development, irrigation, and rural
development activities. Food aid has also been given for 14 emergency
response operations. Today, WFP India's five-year
(1997-2002) country programme goals are to: 1.
improve
nutrition and quality of life for the most vulnerable at critical times in
their lives; 2.
make
sustainable improvements in household food security for the poorest,
especially for women and children, and invest funds in development for
long-term security; 3.
strengthen
channels for locally-produced food grains and support local entrepreneurship;
and 4.
advocate
for eco-restoration through participatory methods and development In
view of the fact that India is still classified by the Food and Agriculture
Organization (FAO) as the low-income food-deficit country, WFP's programme
focuses only on the hungry poor and most vulnerable. With more than 50 per
cent of India's Scheduled Castes and Tribes living below the poverty line,
the majority of WFP's beneficiaries are from these groups. These groups
often live in isolated rural areas and have little access to mainstream
development or subsidized food from the public distribution system. WFP
also works to ensure that women activities help to gain better access to
food, education, and involvement in community decisions. By placing food
directly in the hands of women, WFP initiatives help in achieving objectives
by setting aside funds that are invested in activities that directly benefit
or are controlled by women and also by using gender-sensitive planning
in its programs. These programmes are spread in 11 states, including
Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Orissa and Rajasthan. India
will gain with the continued WFP assistance as around 35 per cent of the
country's populating - 320 million - are considered food insecure, consuming
less than 80 per cent of minimum energy requirements. Dr. M.S.
Swaminathan, renowned agricultural scientist, in his keynote address at the
international conference on "Nutrition and Food Securities" in New
Delhi March 6 referred to the studies which show that on an average 10 to 15
per cent of the rural population fall under the category of real
hunger. they are invariably the landless families with women suffering
more than extreme deprivation. In his seven-point action plan:
"Agenda 2007: A hunger-free India", Dr. Swaminathan focused
on identification of the real hungry and strategies for livelihood security
for all, with thrust on poor women. Under
the circumstances, there is enough justification for more intensive WFP
involvement that will be of lasting advantage to the poor in India trapped in
the insidious cycle of hunger and poverty. Explaining
the women's role in ending hunger and poverty, Mr. Pedro Medrano said:
"Women and mothers are foundations of a civil society. Yet, the
words 'poverty' and 'women' have become synonymous in nearly every quarter of
the globe. If hunger had a face, it would be the face of women as seven
out of ten of the world's hard core poor are women and young children, and
some 550 million live below the poverty line". WFP issued a policy document on food aid strategies for women in 1987 and sectored guidelines for women in development and emergencies in 1989. The WFP mission statement of 1995 reconfirmed women's role as the key to change. The Fourth World Conference on Women (Beijing) brought about a new international commitment to the goals of gender equality, development of peace for all women and moved the global agenda for the advancement of women into the twenty-first century. As a follow-up of the Beijing Conference (1995), the United Nations General Assembly will be holding a special session from June 5-9, 2000 under the theme of "Women 2000: Gender Equality, Development and Peace for the Twenty-First Century".
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