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Dear Members of the Board,
On behalf of WFP USA's policy team, below is our second edition of our monthly newsletter, The Feed. Please let me know if you prefer not to receive these emails in the future.
Thank you.
Shannon

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Syria

* The ongoing civil conflict and harsh winter continue to exacerbate the food security situation in Syria. Food access and availability are diminishing, with food and fuel prices up 200 percent and the Syrian pound devalued by around 80 percent in certain areas. Only 5 percent of Syrian famers surveyed in the country have been able to fully harvest winter crops.
* With humanitarian needs growing, WFP is scaling up<http://fwfp.convio.net/site/R?i=N_jFkX8aROU1KkxzIF4HqA> the number of people receiving food assistance to 2.5 million from the current target of 1.5 million people over the coming months. WFP is reaching affected communities in both government and opposition-controlled areas in all 14 governorates in Syria. More than 700,000 Syrian refugees have fled to neighbouring countries and WFP plans to expand its regional refugee operation through June 2013.
* On January 30, countries and regional organizations pledged more than $1.5 billion<http://fwfp.convio.net/site/R?i=RbkNESGJdh9AaHJt1dqSEA> to provide humanitarian assistance to Syrian civilians affected by the conflict at the International Humanitarian Pledging Conference for Syria. President Obama announced<http://fwfp.convio.net/site/R?i=pZrnBdTaEpkDjUIqTBN6dw> an additional $155 million in humanitarian aid to help meet the needs of people inside Syria and refugees across the region, bringing the total U.S. humanitarian response to $365 million to date.

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Mali

* Conflict in early January has triggered widespread displacement within Mali and into neighbouring countries, placing additional pressures on vulnerable communities still recovering from the region's drought. Prior to the eruption of fighting, over 145,000 Malian refugees were registered in neighbouring countries due to previous conflict and these numbers are expected to increase<http://fwfp.convio.net/site/R?i=-20TDarEkI-0XHLSXbBWFw>. Around 8,700 people have been displaced within Mali since the renewed fighting, adding to the 229,000 previously displaced.
* For the first time since the outbreak of conflict in early January, WFP has resumed deliveries of food and nutrition products to the North, allowing for a monthly food ration for 34,900 people in the region. Food distributions are ongoing to over 65,000 internally displaced people in central Mali with WFP partners CARE, ADR and World Vision. WFP aims to reach over 530,000 people through an emergency operation in 2013.
* $128.65 million is currently needed to support those affected by the conflict in Mali and $74 million is needed to support Malian refugees in Burkina Faso, Mauritania and Niger. The U.S. has contributed almost $926,000 to the 2013 operation to date.

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Progress in the Global Fight Against Hunger: Fast Facts


* According to the recent 2012 State of Food Insecurity in the World report (SOFI)<http://fwfp.convio.net/site/R?i=kEbhiwmBM2O2rDUqxy-wMA>, progress in reducing hunger has been better than previously thought: the number of people living with chronic hunger has declined by 130 million over the past 20 years.
* According to the 2012 Millennium Development Report<http://fwfp.convio.net/site/R?i=KuDxOexGbRu-U2m3T6mpgA>, the proportion of children under age five in developing countries who are underweight - an important indicator in overall child health and nutrition status - declined from 29 percent in 1990 to 18 percent in 2010.
* Over 1.8 million farmers, ranchers and food producers in developing countries have been reached by U.S. efforts to adopt improved technologies and management practices that will lead to more resilient crops, higher yields and increased incomes, according to the U.S. Government's Feed the Future Progress Report.<http://fwfp.convio.net/site/R?i=lY2d5gQ4qruKe0Ao6K_YIQ>

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"American foreign policy is also defined by food security and energy security, humanitarian assistance, the fight against disease and the push for development, as much as it is by any single counter terrorism initiative and it must be."

Secretary of State-designate John Kerry<http://fwfp.convio.net/site/R?i=Oh71Bi3YDG-g2gKMywMB2A>, January 24, 2013

We hope you enjoy this publication and we welcome your feedback on how to make it most relevant to your Congressional work. Contact aenglish@wfpusa.org<mailto:aenglish@wfpusa.org> for more information.