UN Secretary-General's message
IN WORLD FOOD DAY MESSAGE, SECRETARY-GENERAL CALLS ON RICH, POOR COUNTRIES ALIKE TO INVEST ENERGY, RESOURCES NECESSARY TO WIN BATTLE AGAINST HUNGER
Following is UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s message for World Food Day, commemorated on 16 October:
Today, in the Horn of Africa, more than 13 million people are affected by one of the region’s worst droughts in 60 years. Famine grips swathes of southern Somalia. Yet, drought does not need to become famine — nor should it ever be allowed to, either through system failure or through the kind of deliberate deprivation we are seeing in areas controlled by Al-Shabaab.
The hunger in the Horn of Africa is but a fraction of a needless global menace. There is more than enough food on the planet to feed everyone, yet today nearly 1 billion people will go hungry. I urge world leaders in rich and poor countries alike to invest the energy and resources necessary to win the battle against hunger — a key pillar of our efforts to achieve the Millennium Development Goals. Lasting solutions must cover the full spectrum of food security – from improving the resilience of smallholder farmers to deploying safety net programmes that help protect the most vulnerable.
This year’s World Food Day highlights the issue of price volatility. For the world’s poorest people, many of whom spend up to 80 per cent of their income on food, this can be devastating. In 2007-2008, food price inflation pushed some 80 million people into hunger. Recent food price hikes have propelled another 70 million people into extreme poverty.
We need to break the links between poverty, food insecurity and malnutrition. Families impoverished by price volatility risk seeing their babies’ minds and bodies permanently damaged by malnutrition; their children being taken out of school and put to work, and their income-producing livestock slaughtered for food. The answer is to put in place policies, like those advocated by the Scale Up Nutrition movement, to ensure all people have access to sufficient nutrition.
This month the world’s population will top 7 billion people. The world has the knowledge and the resources to end hunger; we have the tools to ensure that the poorest are buffered from the impact of rising prices. Let us use them — now — to conquer hunger.
Ban Ki-moon
Secretary-General
United Nations
World Food Day 2011 - Worldwide Events
World Food Day 2011 - Poster
World Food Day 2011 - Issues Paper
Sunday, 16 October 2011
Saturday, 15 October 2011
Taylor's Education Group World Food Day
Taylor's University > About Taylor's > TEG World Food Day
World Hunger Crisis:
Here at Taylor's, we believe strongly in service: not only to our students and our country, but to the world as a whole. Hunger and malnutrition are at the forefront of urgent problems in the world today, especially with the current Somalian crisis. Over a billion people on our earth go hungry every day, and malnutrition plays a role in more than half of all childhood deaths. We believe that this is a severe and urgent problem. More importantly, we believe that all of us are part of the solution.
Thus, Taylor's Education Group (TEG) has pledged to pack and donate 1,000,000 meals through TEG World Food Day, when we will hold a series of Meal Packaging Events at Taylor's University and Taylor's College campuses as well as Sri Garden Schools on 16 October 2011. Each pack consists of 6 meals. Partnered with NGOs such as Stop Hunger Now and Food for the Hungry International, we aim to pack 166,667 packs (or 1,000,000 meals) to be distributed to crisis-burdened areas or school feeding programmes.
About Meal Packaging Events:
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| KP SL Bertarikh 6hb Sept 2011 No Lesen: A012732 |
Our target for this event is to actively address the problem of world hunger by having at least 1,000 volunteers pack 1 million meals within 1 day on 16 October 2011. We are also striving to bring the issue of world hunger to the forefront through the media and participants of the event. In addition, we would like to be part of generating continuous successful Meal Packaging events. In the past, the 45 million meals that have been packaged have been received in 76 countries.
Please click here for the Soft Launch of World Food Day.
About Our Partner – Stop Hunger Now (SHN):
Stop Hunger Now is an international hunger relief agency that has coordinated the distribution of food to countries all over the world, with over 45 million meals packaged and transported to crisis-burdened areas or school feeding programmes in 76 countries. They are dedicated to providing food and life-saving aid to the most vulnerable, and to creating a global commitment to mobilize the necessary resources. For more information, visit their website www.stophungernow.org.
Be a Part of the Solution:
We would like to invite you to help us make a difference.
Click to download World Food Day Food Raising Form.There are many ways to contribute, including:
- Purchasing RM18 World Food Day T-shirts. All proceeds will go directly towards this worthy cause.
- Volunteering on World Food Day itself. This is the most hands-on way to get involved – become one of the 1,000 volunteers that will create a million meals on 16 October 2011 across Taylor's campuses! Make a real difference and join us for a meal packaging event.
Date : 16 October 2011 Venue : Taylor's University
Taylor's College
Sri Garden Schools
Be a Volunteer: Register here to be a volunteer to pack food on TEG World Food Day. For Taylor's University Lakeside Campus, log on to: http://www.planetReg.com/E8291342253 For Taylor's College Subang Jaya & Sri Hartamas, log on to: http://www.planetReg.com/E82412531253
- Food-Raising. Taylor's Education Group will prepare any amount of 375-gram food packs, containing 6 meals of soy protein, rice, dried vegetables and nutrient-filled flavoring, each worth RM6, on your behalf.
Companies may choose from the following sponsorship options:
- Contribute 350 meal packs, worth RM2,100:
- Corporate logo placement in leaflet & poster
- Mention in PR materials
- Contribute 850 meal packs, worth RM5,100:
- Corporate logo placement in leaflet & poster
- Exposure in Taylor's 8 websites
- Mention in PR materials
- Contribute 1,700 meal packs, worth RM10,200:
- Corporate logo placement in leaflet, poster, buntings, and backdrop
- Exposure in Taylor's 8 websites
- Exposure in Taylor's 3 Facebook pages
- Personal meal packing line
- Mention in PR materials
- Contribute 3,350 meal packs, worth RM20,100:
- Corporate logo placement in leaflet, poster, buntings, backdrop, banner, and T-shirt
- Exposure in Taylor's 8 websites
- Exposure in Taylor's 3 Facebook pages
- Personal meal packing line
- Mention in PR materials
- Contribute 350 meal packs, worth RM2,100:
Contact Us
"TEG World Food Day" Food-Raising Committee c/o Corporate Marketing
Block A, Level 3, No. 1 Jalan Taylor's, 47500 Subang Jaya,
Selangor, Malaysia
T: +60 3 5629 5000 F: +60 3 5629 5141
E: csr@taylors.edu.my
Come and participate in Share The Love Concert @ Taylor's Lakeside Campus. All proceeds from the sale of Julie's biscuits will go towards TEG World Food Day.
"TEG World Food Day" Food-Raising Committee c/o Corporate Marketing
Block A, Level 3, No. 1 Jalan Taylor's, 47500 Subang Jaya,
Selangor, Malaysia
T: +60 3 5629 5000 F: +60 3 5629 5141
E: csr@taylors.edu.my
Come and participate in Share The Love Concert @ Taylor's Lakeside Campus. All proceeds from the sale of Julie's biscuits will go towards TEG World Food Day.
Click below:
Any contribution you make to this event directly provides emergency food supplies to our fellow being around the world who are in life-threatening crisis situations.| Thank you for being part of the solution |
| and together we will reach our goal: |
| One Day, One Million Meals. |
| Partner: | Official Media: | ||||||
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"Clean Hands save lives " - Global Handwashing Day 2011
Global Hand Washing Day
Why so much fuss about hand washing with soap?Between 5-10% of all children under the age of five living in poor countries develop pneumonia. In Pakistan alone more than 250,000 children die due to diarrhoea-related diseases every year. According to Ministry of Environment, Government of Pakistan, the total health plus economic costs of work days lost for treating water borne diseases exceeds Rs. 100 billion annually, and over 40% of the hospital beds are occupied by patients suffering from water-borne diseases.
In Pakistan, projected population growth for the next 10 years is estimated to increase by 40% to 250 million from the current 180 million. Hence the demand potential for safe drinking water, improved hygiene and adequate sanitation facilities will also dramatically increase manifold, thus overburdening the frail health infrastructure and the meagre budget allocated to health. There is a vital and close link between water-borne diseases and lack of safe drinking water, hygiene and sanitation. These three vital pillars of good health that need an integrated strategy. Not washing hands at critical times particularly before eating and after using the toilet, can lead to diarrhoea-related infections, typhoid, cholera, gastroenteritis, and also to Hepatitis A and E.
Regular hand washing with soap reduces acute respiratory infections, pneumonia, and diarrhoea-related diseases in children under five years of age by over 50%, according to a 2004 CMC Study published in JAMA Karachi.1.1 billion people worldwide lack access to safe drinking water and 2.6 billion people lack adequate sanitation according to Fresh Water Action Network, South Asia.The practice of hand washing with soap is abysmally low globally, ranging between zero to 34% at critical times [before eating and after using toilet]. Pakistan is tragically on the lower end of the scale despite having some of the best soap brands in the world being manufacturerd locally.
Global Hand Washing Day [GHD] is dedicated to raising awareness of hand washing with soap as a key approach to disease prevention that can contribute to a significant reduction in child morbidity and mortality by more than 50%, thus dramatically saving billions in terms of health and economic costs each year. GHD was first celebrated on October 15, 2008 when the United Nations General Assembly designated the year 2008 as the International Year of Sanitation. The theme of hand washing with soap is focused on message to schoolchildren wash their hands with soap regularly.
More than 200 million children, parents, teachers and NGO and government workers in over 70 countries will be celebrating the fourth Global hand Washing Day [GHD] on October 15, 2011. Initiated by the Global Public-Private Partnership for Hand Washing with Soap, GHD is endorsed by the a wide array of government, international institutions, society organizations ,such as CDC, UNICEF, USAID-HIP, AED, World Bank-WSP, NGOs, P&G, Unilever, Colgate-Palmolive and other private sector companies and NGOs around the globe. Practice of hand washing with soap in Pakistan is alarmingly low in the rural areas. In a District-Based Multiple Cluster Survey of South Punjab done with the collaboration of UNICEF, it was found that in Bhakkar District more than 56% of the population did not wash their hands with soap. In Mianwali District, over 42% of the population did not wash their hands with soap at critical times. In Pakpattan District more than one-third of the population did not practice hand washing with soap. It is more a question of social behaviour rather than the price of soap.
It is interesting to note that there is a strong and positive correlation between not washing hands with soaps and the incidence of diarrhoea. For example, in Dera Ghazi Khan where the more than 36% of the population did not wash hands with soap, it was found that more than 52% of the children under five were suffering from diarrheal infections. In rural Punjab, the same study found that about 24% of the children under the age of five were suffering from different episodes of diarrhoea. The story of urban Punjab is not pleasing either. More than 21% of the children under five were found to be suffering with different diarrheal infections.
In Sindh, the number of children under five, suffering from gastroenteritis and other diarrheal infections was found significantly higher in flood disaster areas where drinking water was highly contaminated. In an earlier study it was found that more than 19% of the children in rural Sindh were suffering from different types of diarrheal infections attributable to lack of hand washing with soap and contaminated water.
Global Hand Washing Day 2011 will revolve around activities in playgrounds, classrooms, community spaces and public places to drive the hands washing with soap campaign to trigger a behaviour change in children on a massive scale. In Pakistan only a few multinational companies, such as Unilever and P&G, have adopted the social marketing approach and have run short but effective educative animated cartoon commercials and school-based campaigns to communicate the message of hand washing with soap to school children to wash their hands with soap. Unfortunately, the majority of the soap manufacturers are still focused on beauty and skincare as the unique selling proposition in their marketing strategy, thus being strategically blind to a much bigger and lucrative rural market segment that does not wash hands with soap.
Clean Hands Publications
Brochures, Bookmarks & Fact Sheets
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Posters
 |  |  Healthy Schools, Healthy People, It's a SNAP | |
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Materials for 3 to 6 year olds: | School-Wide Hand Hygiene Education Program for K-12: |
Hooray for Handwashing | Healthy Schools, Healthy People, It's a SNAP! www.itsasnap.org  |
Friday, 14 October 2011
Observances of International Day of Rural Women
International Day of Rural Women - October 15
| UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s Message on the International Day of Rural Women 2011 UN Women Executive Director Michelle Bachelet’s Message on the International Day of Rural Women 2011 |
The International Day of Rural Women directs attention to both the contribution that women make in rural areas, and the many challenges that they face. This international day, established by the General Assembly in its resolution 62/136 of 18 December 2007, recognizes “the critical role and contribution of rural women, including indigenous women, in enhancing agricultural and rural development, improving food security and eradicating rural poverty.” In 2007, at the tenth session of the Regional Conference on Women in Latin America and the Caribbean, Member States of the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean, expressed in the Quito Consensus their decision to promote the adoption of an International Day of Rural Women “as an explicit recognition of [rural women’s] economic contribution and the development of their communities, in particular with regard to the unpaid work they perform.”
The idea of honouring rural women with a special day was put forward by international NGOs at the Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing in 1995. It was suggested that 15 October be celebrated as “World Rural Women’s Day,” on the eve of World Food Day, in order to highlight the role played by rural women in food production and food security.
“World Rural Women’s Day” has been celebrated, primarily by civil society, across the world for over a decade. The first International Day of Rural Women was observed in New York on 15 October 2008.
Previous years' observances:
- International Day of Rural Women 2010:
- Secretary-General’s message ( A | C | E | F | R | S )
- Investing in rural women contributes to food security - International Day of Rural Women 2009:
- Secretary-General's message
- Cultivating better lives: rural women and world food security - International Day of Rural Women 2008:
- Secretary-General's message
- Events at UN Headquarters
- The contribution of rural women
- Access to education and health
- Poverty
- Global challenges
- International framework
Thursday, 13 October 2011
World Sight Day 2011 (WSD11) - "The Right to sight "
World Sight Day 2011
According to WHO estimates:
- 286 million people are visually impaired
- Of these, 39 million are blind, and 246 million have moderate or severe visual impairment
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YET 80% of blindness is avoidable
- 90% of people with visual impairments live in developing countries
- Almost 65% of visually impaired people are over 50 years of age
- 19 million children are visually impaired
WSD11 - international day of awareness for VISION 2020: The Right to Sight
Recognising blindness and vision impairment as global public health issues
World Sight Day 2011 (WSD11) has the official, global date of the second Thursday inOctober, which this year falls on the 13th. It will be marked by organisations and institutions around the world, in many different ways, on or around that date.
An estimated 284 million people worldwide are visually impaired, yet 80% of cases are due to causes which could have been prevented, treated or cured. 90% of blind people live in developing countries, and this needless waste costs individuals, families and communities billions of dollars every year.
There is no global theme for WSD11, which we hope will allow each participating organisation to use the occasion to highlight its own priority areas, in ways which will resonate with their own target audiences. Template press releases and supporting materials will be produced for download from VISION2020.org, as the months progress toward October.
A new global logo has been developed for World Sight Day, based on the Braille symbols which spell “WSD”. Versions have been developed in Arabic, French, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish and Chinese. These logos will be made available for download, and will also be used in generic posters, bookmarks and other promotional materials for distribution to requesting organisations in August.
Documents to help plan and implement WSD11 events can be downloaded from the WSD11 Implementation Pack page. Please complete the WSD_Events_Info_Form.doc (0.039MB) to keep us informed of your plans, and to ensure inclusion in the WSD11 Activities Report!
For more information and updates, please ensure that you are subscribed to the monthly VISION 2020 electronic newsletter – www.VISION2020.org/newsletter and check the World Sight Day web pages here at www.VISION2020.org/wsd11
Secretary-General's Ban Ki-moon - International Day for Disaster Reduction 2011
Secretary-General's Messages
Message for 2011
Each time disaster strikes, nature is often blamed. Rarely do we think about human actions that increase risk and turn danger into catastrophe.
Vulnerability to disaster is growing faster than resilience. Over the past year, we have seen devastating floods, earthquakes, tsunamis and droughts.
Nuclear safety and the threat of multiple technological hazards add even greater urgency.
The good news is that some countries have shown how to reduce risk from floods and cyclones. Investments in early warning and other measures are paying dividends.
Yet the economic burden of technological disasters continues to grow. Making the case for investment in risk reduction can be an uphill struggle. Yet much can be gained from spending wisely rather than spending more.
This year’s observance of the International Day for Disaster Reduction recognizes the vital role of children and young people.
In Nepal and elsewhere, schoolchildren are taught the basics of home and building safety.
Risk reduction and climate change adaptation activities involving children in Cuba are now being emulated in other parts of the world.
Most recently, more than 600 African, Asian and Latin American young boys and girls developed a Children’s Charter to reduce disaster risk.
The message is clear: Disaster risk reduction should be an everyday concern for everybody.
Let us all invest today for a safer tomorrow.
Ban Ki-moon
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