Action Against Hunger
Encyclopedia
Action Against Hunger is an international humanitarian organization with a focus on ending world hunger. Action Against Hunger specializes in responding to emergency situations of war, conflict, and natural disaster. Their programs in nutrition, water and sanitation, food security
Food security
Food security refers to the availability of food and one's access to it. A household is considered food-secure when its occupants do not live in hunger or fear of starvation. According to the World Resources Institute, global per capita food production has been increasing substantially for the past...

, health care, and advocacy serve more than 5 million people in over 40 countries.

History

Action Against Hunger (ACF) was established in 1979 by a group of French doctors, scientists, and writers. Nobel Prize-winning physicist Professor Alfred Kastler
Alfred Kastler
Alfred Kastler was a French physicist, and Nobel Prize laureate.Kastler was born in Guebwiller and later attended the Lycée Bartholdi in Colmar, Alsace, and École Normale Supérieure in Paris in 1921...

 served as the organization’s first chairman.

ACF moved to provide assistance to Afghan refugees in Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...

, famine-stricken Uganda
Uganda
Uganda , officially the Republic of Uganda, is a landlocked country in East Africa. Uganda is also known as the "Pearl of Africa". It is bordered on the east by Kenya, on the north by South Sudan, on the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, on the southwest by Rwanda, and on the south by...

n communities, and Cambodia
Cambodia
Cambodia , officially known as the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia...

n refugees in Thailand
Thailand
Thailand , officially the Kingdom of Thailand , formerly known as Siam , is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula and Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the...

. ACF expanded to address humanitarian concerns in Africa, the Middle East, Southeast Asia, the Balkans and elsewhere in the 1980s and 1990s. Action Against Hunger’s Scientific Committee pioneered the therapeutic milk formula (F100
F-100 (food)
F-100 and F-75 are therapeutic milk products designed to treat severe malnutrition. In 1994 Action Against Hunger / Action Contre la Faim pioneered the use of milk formula F-100 for the treatment of severe acute malnutrition...

), now used by all major humanitarian aid organizations to treat acute malnutrition. As a result, the global mortality rate of severely malnourished children under the age of five has been reduced from 25% to 5%.

Action Against Hunger – USA was established in 1985 and became the first member of what is now ACF International. ACF International currently has headquarters in five countries – France, Spain, the United States, Canada and the UK. All members of the ACF International Network agree to a charter of principles: independence, impartiality, nondiscrimination, free and direct access to victims, professionalism, and transparency.

In the short term, Action Against Hunger addresses hunger and malnutrition through feeding centers, food and supply distributions and by providing water and sanitation facilities in emergency situations. In the long term, ACF provides training in nutrition, water and sanitation, food security, and health care.. ACF utilizes international experts and over 6000 local (national) staff to develop programs.

Attack against workers

In 2006, Action Against Hunger lost 17 of its workers in a town called Muttur
Muttur (Sri Lanka)
Muttur or Mutur is a town in the Trincomalee District of Sri Lanka and it is located about 25 km South of Trincomalee, on the Southern side of the Trincomalee Harbour. In Tamil it translates to 'Ancient village'.- References :...

 who were working in post 2004 Tsunami reconstruction effort in Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka is a country off the southern coast of the Indian subcontinent. Known until 1972 as Ceylon , Sri Lanka is an island surrounded by the Indian Ocean, the Gulf of Mannar and the Palk Strait, and lies in the vicinity of India and the...

 due to violence. The independent Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission
Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission
The Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission was established on 22 February 2002 under the terms of a ceasefire agreement signed by the Government of Sri Lanka and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, as a body that would monitor the ceasefire and enquire into reported violations of the ceasefire agreement...

 has implicated the government forces but the government currently denies it and is conducting an investigation.

Nutrition

ACF sets up feeding centers to treat malnourished children. They also help control and prevent malnutrition through child-growth monitoring, nutritional surveys, and public education. Therapeutic feeding centers treat children with acute severe malnutrition through rigorous programs of medical treatment.

Water and sanitation

ACF provides access to safe drinking water by drilling wells, tapping springs, and installing water systems. They train local teams and communities to maintain equipment and work with the population on the importance of clean water and sanitation.

Food security

ACF distributes seeds and tools as well as conduct training programs in income-generating activities such as farming, gardening, animal breeding, and food conservation.

Health

ACF sets up mother and child health centers to provide immunization and pre/post-natal care. Their public health programs train medical staff, provide medicine, monitor and control epidemics, and rehabilitate clinics.

Advocacy

Action Against Hunger raises awareness about hunger and seeks to alert the international community when human rights, especially the right to food, are violated.

Action Against Hunger Humanitarian Award

The Action Against Hunger Humanitarian Award recognizes individuals who have made substantive contributions to the humanitarian field through philanthropy, public awareness, or their efforts to directly improve conditions for distressed communities.

In 2009, ACF honored the Food and Agriculture Organization
Food and Agriculture Organization
The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations is a specialised agency of the United Nations that leads international efforts to defeat hunger. Serving both developed and developing countries, FAO acts as a neutral forum where all nations meet as equals to negotiate agreements and...

 of the United Nations
United Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...

 and its Director-General
Director-general
The term director-general is a title given the highest executive officer within a governmental, statutory, NGO, third sector or not-for-profit institution.-European Union:...

, Jacques Diouf
Jacques Diouf
Jacques Diouf is a Senegalese diplomat with the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. He has been serving as Director-General of FAO since January 1994...

, for their long-standing commitment to fighting hunger and poverty.

In 2008, Anderson Cooper
Anderson Cooper
Anderson Hays Cooper is an American journalist, author, and television personality. He is the primary anchor of the CNN news show Anderson Cooper 360°. The program is normally broadcast live from a New York City studio; however, Cooper often broadcasts live on location for breaking news stories...

 was the first journalist to receive the Action Against Hunger Humanitarian Award. He was selected as the recipient for the award in 2008 for his ongoing coverage of key global issues and for bringing some of the most glaring humanitarian tragedies into focus for the American public.

In 2007, film director and Academy Award nominee Terry George
Terry George
Terry George is an Irish screenwriter and director. Born and raised in Belfast, Northern Ireland much of his film work involves the Troubles in Northern Ireland...

 was the recipient of the annual award for his long-standing humanitarian commitments, and the impact of his award winning depiction of the Rwandan Genocide in his movie, Hotel Rwanda.

The 2006 Action Against Hunger Humanitarian Award recipient was Susan Sarandon
Susan Sarandon
Susan Sarandon is an American actress. She has worked in films and television since 1969, and won an Academy Award for Best Actress for her performance in the 1995 film Dead Man Walking. She had also been nominated for the award for four films before that and has received other recognition for her...

. She was honored for her work as a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador, an advocate for victims of hunger and HIV/AIDS, and a spokesperson for Heifer International. Documentary filmmaker Michael Moore
Michael Moore
Michael Francis Moore is an American filmmaker, author, social critic and activist. He is the director and producer of Fahrenheit 9/11, which is the highest-grossing documentary of all time. His films Bowling for Columbine and Sicko also place in the top ten highest-grossing documentaries...

 introduced her and presented her with the award.

In 2005, the recipient of the award was the Nobel Laureate Archbishop Desmond Tutu in recognition of his outstanding work against hunger, malnutrition and poverty worldwide.

Past recipients of the award have included Nobel Laureate and former South African President Nelson Mandela
Nelson Mandela
Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela served as President of South Africa from 1994 to 1999, and was the first South African president to be elected in a fully representative democratic election. Before his presidency, Mandela was an anti-apartheid activist, and the leader of Umkhonto we Sizwe, the armed wing...

 (2004), as well as the Pulitzer Prize-winning author Frank McCourt
Frank McCourt
Francis "Frank" McCourt was an Irish-American teacher and Pulitzer Prize–winning writer, best known as the author of Angela’s Ashes, an award-winning, tragicomic memoir of the misery and squalor of his childhood....

 (2002), and Jeff Bridges
Jeff Bridges
Jeffrey Leon "Jeff" Bridges is an American actor and musician. He won the Academy Award for Best Actor for his role as Otis "Bad" Blake in the 2009 film Crazy Heart....

, among others.

Athletes Against Hunger

A growing number of athletes are devoting their efforts to raising awareness and funds for Action Against Hunger.

This informal assemblage of adventurers, which was dubbed "Athletes Against Hunger", have devoted their time, resources, and hard work to bringing an end to malnutrition. They have climbed Everest, inline skated across the country and hiked the Appalachian Trail, to name a few.

Race Against Hunger

The Race Against Hunger is a Service Learning campaign that unites middle and high school students from all over the world in the fight against global hunger and malnutrition. The Race aims to educate American students about the causes of global hunger and inspire them to be a part of the solution.

The educational component of the Race involves an interactive program about global hunger that teachers implement in their classrooms. Recognizing the paradox of hunger in the developing world amidst an obesity epidemic in the United States, the curriculum is followed by an opportunity for students to engage in a fun and healthy activity through a “fun-run” event. Students seek sponsorships for the “fun-run”, and the proceeds raised by students directly support Action Against Hunger’s life-saving programs around the world.
In 2003, Zidane attended the Race Against Hunger organized by Action Against Hunger Spain (also known as Acción Contra el Hambre) held at the French Lyceum of Madrid. This event raised an estimated 25,000 Euros.

Restaurants Against Hunger

Action Against Hunger's annual Restaurants Against Hunger Campaign partners with leaders from the food and beverage industry to bring attention to problem of global hunger. Each year, the campaign raises vital funds and support for Action Against Hunger’s life-saving humanitarian programs.

Various singers have performed at the annual Restaurants Against Hunger Spring Gala including Kaïssa
Kaïssa
Kaïssa is a Cameroon born world musician. She moved to Paris with her family at thirteen and to New York City in 1996. Kaissa worked on stage and/or in studio with Salif Keita, Manu Dibango, Kofi Olomide, Papa Wemba, Cesária Évora, Martha Wash, Diana Ross, Paul Simon and others...

 and Clara Lofaro.

During the month of March 2010, several chefs, including Atul Kochhar and Rick Stein, cooked meals in a pop-up restaurant
Pop-up restaurant
Pop-up restaurants, also called supper clubs, are temporary restaurants. These restaurants often operate from a private home, former factory or similar and during festivals....

 in London to help raise funds for the organization's efforts in Haiti
Haiti
Haiti , officially the Republic of Haiti , is a Caribbean country. It occupies the western, smaller portion of the island of Hispaniola, in the Greater Antillean archipelago, which it shares with the Dominican Republic. Ayiti was the indigenous Taíno or Amerindian name for the island...

.

Love Food Give Food

Action Against Hunger's new appeal, Love Food Give Food, asks all those who love food to get involved and raise funds to save the lives of malnourished children. As the food and drink industry’s chosen charity, the appeal strives to bring attention to the problem of global hunger and raise over £1 million annually for this cause.

During the months of September and October, hundreds of restaurants fundraise for the Love Food Give Food appeal by adding £1 to the bill or adding 50p to a designated dish. Other restaurants, such as Carluccio’s, support the appeal year-round; Carluccio’s generously donate 50p for each Penne Giardiniera sold.

New for 2011, Love Food Give Food are asking everyone to Host a Dinner Party for Action Against Hunger. The idea is that you sign up online, invite friends around for dinner and then ask them to make a donation to Action Against Hunger, if they liked your cooking. Several celebrity chefs are supporting the Love Food Give Food appeal by providing recipes for the website and cooking at Taste of London, including Jun Tanaka
Jun Tanaka (chef)
Jun Tanaka is an American-born British Japanese UK TV chef, best known for presenting Channel 4's Cooking It as well as appearing in Saturday Kitchen on BBC One....

, Cyrus Todiwala
Cyrus Todiwala
Cyrus Todiwala OBE is Proprietor and Executive Chef of the Café Spice Namasté restaurant, consults for the Tesco Finest range, manages two other restaurants - The Parsee in Highgate and Cafe T in New Cavendish Street - and has been credited with an innovative and fresh approach to Indian cuisine in...

, Marcus Wareing
Marcus Wareing
Marcus Wareing , is an English chef, currently Chef Patron of "Marcus Wareing at The Berkeley" in Knightsbridge, and previously the Grill Room at the Savoy Hotel on the Strand....

, Valentine Warner
Valentine Warner
Valentine Warner is a cook. He started his television career on the BBC in Autumn 2008 with What to Eat Now, a cookery programme based on his book of the same name....

, Theo Randall and Francesco Mazzei.

External links

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