Action Against Hunger

Action Against Hunger (known internationally as Action Contre la Faim, or ACF) is an international relief and development organization committed to saving the lives of malnourished children and families while seeking long-term, sustainable solutions to hunger. Recognized as a world leader in the fight against hunger and malnutrition, Action Against Hunger specializes in responding to emergency situations of war, conflict, and natural disaster. Their innovative programs in nutrition, water and sanitation, food security, health care, and advocacy reach more than 5 million people in over 40 countries, helping vulnerable populations regain their self-sufficiency.

Contents 1 History 1.1 Attack against workers 2 Programs 2.1 Nutrition Programs 2.2 Water and Sanitation Programs 2.3 Food Security Programs 2.4 Health Programs 2.5 Advocacy Programs 3 Action Against Hunger Humanitarian Award 4 Campaigns & Activities 4.1 Athletes Against Hunger 4.2 Race Against Hunger 4.3 Restaurants Against Hunger 5 Where ACF Works 5.1 Africa 5.2 Americas 5.3 Asia 5.4 Europe 5.5 Middle East 6 Governance 6.1 Board of Directors - ACF- USA 6.2 Board of Directors - ACF-UK 6.3 Advisory Council ACF-USA 7 Notes 8 External links

History

Action Against Hunger (ACF) was established in 1979 by a group of French doctors, scientists, and writers with a mission to end hunger worldwide. Nobel Prize-winning physicist Professor Alfred Kastler served as the organization’s first chairman.

ACF moved immediately to provide desperately needed assistance to Afghan refugees in Pakistan, famine-stricken Ugandan communities, and Cambodian refugees in Thailand. As ACF expanded to address humanitarian concerns in Africa, the Middle East, Southeast Asia, the Balkans and elsewhere in the 1980’s and 1990’s, it became recognized as a leading innovator in humanitarian aid and hunger relief. Action Against Hunger’s Scientific Committee pioneered the therapeutic milk formula (F100), 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 the Action Against Hunger International Network, known also as Action Contre la Faim (ACF). The network currently has headquarters in five countries – France, Spain, the United States, Canada and the UK. All members of the Action Against Hunger International Network adhere to a charter of principles that forms the foundation of humanitarian commitment: independence, impartiality, nondiscrimination, free and direct access to victims, professionalism, and transparency.

Action Against Hunger’s involvement typically begins with emergency relief in response to a crisis, but relief is always reinforced by longer term programs enabling victims to regain their autonomy and the means to live independent of external aid. 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 to ensure self-sufficiency and to assist communities in rebuilding. ACF relies on the skills of hundreds of international experts and over 6000 local (national) staff to develop programs that are well adapted to the needs of its beneficiaries.

Attack against workers

In 2006, Action Against Hunger lost 17 of its workers in a town called Muttur who were working in post 2004 Tsunami reconstruction effort in Sri Lanka due to violence. The independent Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission has implicated the government forces but the government currently denies it and is conducting an investigation.

Programs

Their innovative programs integrate activities in nutrition, water and sanitation, food security, health care and advocacy.

Nutrition Programs

Saving the life of a severely malnourished child can be a matter of hours. ACF sets up therapeutic 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, at the heart of their emergency programs, save children from dying of acute severe malnutrition through rigorous programs of medical treatment. Re-nutrition products and protocols defined by the nutrition department are the basis of our interventions in emergency situations.

Water and Sanitation Programs

Water is the leading weapon against hunger. Access to safe drinking water and better sanitation allows improvement in the state of health of communities and prevent the spread of diseases. ACF provides access to safe drinking water by drilling wells, tapping springs, and installing water systems. They train local teams and whole communities to maintain equipment and work with the population on the importance of clean water and sanitation.

Food Security Programs

To protect food security in the long term, it is essential to support local agriculture and economies by ensuring access to new resources. They distribute seeds and tools as well as conduct training programs in income-generating activities such as farming, gardening, animal breeding, and food conservation. Food security programs put people on the road to self-sufficiency.

To respond to crises ACF often must distribute food for immediate survival needs. The choice and quality of foods (which must take cultural factors into account) and identification of the neediest beneficiaries are key elements for defining the appropriate type of aid. In post-crisis situations or in order to prevent a recurrence, it is essential to support local agriculture and broaden a population's economic options by supplying inputs (seeds, fertilizers, tools, etc.), new techniques, and strengthening community resilience to future crises.

Health Programs

A vicious circle exists between disease and malnutrition. A malnourished child is more vulnerable to diseases than a well-fed child. A sick child, weakened by illness, often becomes a victim of malnutrition. It is therefore necessary to address disease in order to eliminate hunger. 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 Programs

Action Against Hunger raises awareness about hunger and seeks to alert the international community when human rights, especially the right to food, are violated. Their advocacy and public awareness efforts aim to effect institutional and cultural change to help create a world without hunger.

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 2008, Anderson Cooper 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 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. 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 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 (2004), as well as the Pulitzer Prize-winning author Frank McCourt (2002), and Jeff Bridges, among others.

Campaigns & Activities

Athletes Against Hunger

A growing number of athletes are devoting their excursions 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. Bearing the iconic ACF logo to the farthest reaches of the globe, they have climbed Everest, inline skated across the country and hiked the Appalachian Trail, to name a few.^[1]

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. Tapping into the great potential of youth to become powerful agents of change, 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.^{[2] [3]}

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.^{[4] [5]}

Various singers have performed at the annual Restaurants Against Hunger Spring Gala including Kaïssa and Clara Lofaro.

Where ACF Works

Africa

Angola, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Central African Republic, Chad, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, Guinea, Ivory Coast, Kenya, Lesotho, Liberia, Malawi, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Sierra Leone, Somalia, Sudan, Swaziland, Uganda, Zimbabwe

Americas

Argentina, Bolivia, Colombia, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Nicaragua, Paraguay, Venezuela,Peru

Asia

Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Bangladesh, Cambodia, East Timor, Georgia, Indonesia, Laos, Mongolia, Myanmar, Nepal, North Caucasus, Pakistan, Philippines, Russia, Sri Lanka, Tajikistan

Europe

Armenia

Middle East

Iran, Lebanon, Palestinian Territories

Governance

Board of Directors - ACF- USA

Raymond Debbane - Chairman - The Invus Group, LLC

Joseph G. Audi - InterAudi Bank

Alexis Azria - Writer

Cristina Enriquez-Bocobo - Enriquez-Bocobo Constructs

Pierre Fay - Luxottica Group

Burton K. Haimes - Chairman Emeritus - Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP

Yves-André Istel - Rothschild, Inc.

Ketty Pucci-Sisti Maisonrouge - KettyMaisonrouge & Company, Inc.

Daniel Py - Medical-Instill Technologies

Thilo Semmelbauer

Wendy C. Weiler - Argosy Partners

Kara Young

Board of Directors - ACF-UK

Paul Wilson

Frances Mason

John Barwick

Francois Danel

Denis Metzger

Advisory Council ACF-USA

Henri Barguirdjian - Graff USA

Christian Blanckaert - Hermès, France

Olivier Cassegrain - Longchamp

Sabine Cassel

Chris Davis - Boomerang & HealthandAge.com

Robert de Rothschild - Rothschild, Inc.

Nicole Douillet - Crédit Suisse

Kaïssa Doumbè-Moulongo Schejbal - Singer

Catherine Dumait-Harper

Lynn Frailey - Events Planner

Peggy Kerry - US Mission to the United Nations

James G. Niven - Sotheby’s

Xavier Noël - Paris Gourmet

Maciek Schejbal - Kaïssa Management - Makai Productions

Cara Seymour - Actor

Rick Smilow - The Institute of Culinary Education (ICE)

Alice Stock - Lowenstein Sandler PC

Ronald Waldman - School of Public Health, Columbia University

Tim Zagat & Nina Zagat - Zagat Survey

Notes

1. ^ http://www.actionagainsthunger.org/get-involved/athletes-against-hunger
2. ^ http://www.actionagainsthunger.org/get-involved/race-against-hunger
3. ^ http://www.actionagainsthunger.org.uk/get-involved/events/running-events/
4. ^ http://www.restaurantsagainsthunger.org
5. ^ http://www.actionagainsthunger.org/get-involved/restaurants-against-hunger

External links

• Action Against Hunger (USA)
• Action Contre la Faim (France)
• Accion Contra el Hambre (Spain)
• Action Against Hunger (UK)
• Action Contre la Faim (Canada)