The World Food Programme has launched an “urgent appeal” to governments to donate a record $5.2bn as it confronts an increase in aid recipients because of the economic crisis at a time when food prices are high and its coffers are empty.

 

The WFP is a United Nations agency responsible for relieving hunger, said in a letter to donor countries over the weekend that it needed a significant proportion of the money immediately as it does not have enough funds left to spend in early 2009.

 

Josette Sheeran, WFP executive director said that the agencies would run out of food for some key operations by March and warned that countries such as Ethiopia, Congo, Haiti, Sudan and Bangladesh were at risk.

 

The Rome-based body relies on carry-over cash and food from the previous year to finance its operations at the beginning of the following year, but record food prices earlier in 2008 had exhausted WFP’s reserves.

 

The programme’s budget will soar next year to $5.2bn, a 10.6 per cent increase from $4.7bn this year, and equal to its combined 2006-07 budgets. It is the second time this year that the WFP has launched such an appeal, after running out of money early this spring.

 

Josette Sheeran urged governments to donate 1 per cent of their bail-out and stimulus programmes to fight poverty and hunger. The appeal comes after the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organisation said last week that this year’s food crisis has pushed the number of hungry people to almost one billion.