The “Hunger Games” movie has teamed up with the World Food Programme to raise awareness about the plight of millions around the globe who don’t have enough to eat.
The movie is based on the book of the same name and is about teens who are forced to fight to the death in government sponsored games. It is set in a post-apocalyptic world and deals with several social issues including poverty, starvation, and the effects of conflict.
After 10 years of civil war, women farmers in Côte d’Ivoire are fighting poverty and preserving peace, by growing high-quality rice seeds.
This pest-resistant breed of rice not only doubles their yields and profits, but it also gives them greater independence.
The International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), which combats rural hunger and poverty in developing countries has helped with low-interest loans and direct assistance.
Duration: 3'05"
Source: IFAD
Eighteen years after Rwanda suffered from a genocide that killed hundreds of thousands of people, the country is making steady progress in its efforts to achieve equality between men and women.
That’s the assessment of Professor Shirley Rendell, the Director of the Centre for Gender, Culture and Development at the Kigali Institute of Education.
She says the government in the tiny country in east-central Africa has good policies to encourage and enable women to play leadership roles.
If the world is to produce enough food to feed its seven billion (and counting) citizens, then better water management in agriculture is in order.
According to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the sector accounts for 70% of all water use. Water is needed for everything from growing crops to raising livestock, which eventually become the food that ends up on our tables.
On World Water Day, observed 22 March, FAO warns: “The world is thirsty because we are hungry.”
An outbreak of a new strain of foot and mouth disease in Egypt is threatening food security in North Africa and the Middle East.
This warning has come from the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) which says that more than 40,000 animals have been affected by the disease.
FAO sent an emergency team to Egypt last week to assess the situation and work with veterinary authorities to contain the disease.
According to FAO, 6.3 million buffalo and cattle and 7.5 million sheep and goats are at risk in Egypt.
Can technological innovation help fight poverty?
That’s the question being asked at the two-day Infopoverty World Conference underway at UN Headquarters.
Roberto Rossi is spokesperson for the Observatory for Cultural and Audiovisual Communication (OCCAM), which launched the conference in 2001.
This year’s theme looks at who is driving the digital revolution and Dianne Penn asked him if this is something where developed countries have taken the lead.
Duration 2’44”
The Security Council has sent what it describes as a “strong and united message” to help end the deadly year-long crisis in Syria.
In a statement, the 15-member Council calls for the Syrian authorities to respond quickly to proposals made by Kofi Annan, Joint Special Envoy for the UN and the Arab League, during his recent mission to Damascus.
Dianne Penn reports.
Duration: 2'56"
The problem of racism and conflict is under the spotlight as the United Nations observes the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination on 21st March.
On that day in 1960, South African police opened fired and killed 69 Africans who were protesting against the apartheid pass laws in Sharpeville near Johannesburg.
Afghanistan will soon begin a period of transition and transformation.
Starting in 2014, the Afghan forces will be fully responsible for security as the international military presence in the country winds down. Civilian functions related to governance and provision of social and development service will also be handed over to the national authorities.
The HIV/AIDS pandemic is now in its fourth decade since it was first diagnosed. Major milestones have been made in the prevention, control and the treatment of the disease.
Last year the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS reported that HIV infections and AIDS-related deaths have fallen to the lowest levels since the peak of the epidemic. But despite the progress, those living with HIV still face discrimination from multiple fronts.
