UN concern over rising food prices

The head of the United Nations World Food Programme says rising world food prices are "a silent tsunami that respects no borders". The organization is being forced to look at cutting aid to some recipients. The rising prices are causing some governments to take measures to help the poor.

In Washington on Friday, the UN World Food Programme said it will have to cut at least 400-thousand children from school feeding programmes in the next few weeks.

Josette Sheeran, executive director of UN World Food Programme, said, "Without increased donations, all of WFP's work is threatened with a 40 percent reduction in coming months. This is why we have put out an emergency appeal to the world - an extraordinary emergency appeal. WFP must raise its core budget of 2.9 billion and our emergency gap appeal, which I announced in February, was 500 million. Since that announcement the gap has increased to 755 million. Neither of these numbers includes new needs."

The director said the programme's budget shortfalls due to the high food prices are forcing the organization to borrow from accounts meant for future expenditures. The organization hopes its budget will be increased to make up the deficit.

International Monetary Fund Chief Dominique Straus-Kahn said bio-fuel production has worsened the food crisis, and spread of the bio-fuel production should be delayed.

Meanwhile, Peruvian troops and social workers this week handed out groceries and food to the poor, to ease the food crisis there.

About 42 percent of Peruvians, or 12 million people, live in poverty. Food price rises have become a great burden for them. Officials from the ministry of social development said that these actions would be temporary.