CSR - Unilever raises Awareness for the hungry and the World Food Programme
Last updated 17/10/2009 09:51:54
Unilever raises Awareness for World Food Programme
When pangs of hunger strike you and I, we will be probably be in easy reach of a quick snack or a short walk to a café or supermarket and it probably slips our minds in these moments that there is a world food problem, where reports suggest that there is an estimated one-billion people do not have enough food to eat.
Thirty years ago the UN's Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) set up ‘World Food Day' heighten public awareness of the world food problem and strengthen solidarity in the struggle against hunger, malnutrition and poverty.
Today, employees of Unilever, in more than 30 countries, together with global partners will raise awareness on the issue of child hunger and raise funds for the World Food Programme (WFP).
Last school year, Unilever activities funded school meals for 76 000 children in Kenya, Ghana, Indonesia, Colombia, Pakistan and the Philippines. This year Unilever aims to reach 100 000 children.
Unilever's 2008 contribution total of 3.2m Euro (corporate donations, cause-related marketing campaigns and donations from employees.
1.8m Euro was used to provide school meals via WFP's school feeding programme in Kenya, Ghana, Indonesia, Colombia, Pakistan and the Philippines. Other funds were used in expertise, educational programmes and through emergency relief operations.
Unilever fundraising activities on World Food Day will include, ‘a meal for a meal' whereby Unilever employees can donate the cost of a WFP school meal whilst buying their own lunch.
In Kenya, employees have volunteered to visit one of the schools supported by the partnership (Makongeni Pri school in Nairobi). They will serve the children lunch and get involved in other school activities during the day. In Trinidad, Blue Band margarine will donate meals to children's homes and orphanages across the country.
In the Netherlands, Unilever's ceo Paul Polman will team-up with other Dow Jones Sustainability Leaders, CEOs of DSM and TNT, to raise awareness amongst the business community and the government.
Recently Polman visited Kaloleni Primary School in Nairobi, Kenya to meet some of the children who benefit from Unilever's partnership with WFP. He said: "Global hunger is a serious issue that can only be addressed by organizations and companies working together".
Polman added, "Due to the global economic crisis, the number of people failing to get access to food is increasing. 2008 was a year of unprecedented challenges for WFP, 2009 developments are worrying and funds are needed more than ever."
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