World Food Program - Bush's Niece Spokesperson

World Food Program Names Lauren Bush Honorary Spokesperson For Global Hunger Campaign

Student Web Site Launched WarOnHunger.org

UNITED NATIONS—The United Nations World Food Program announced today it has named Lauren Bush, the 19-year-old Princeton college student, Elite model, and niece of the president, honorary spokesperson for its new global hunger campaign aimed at students.

Hunger and malnutrition are the number-one killers in the world and are responsible for more deaths than AIDS, malaria, and tuberculosis combined.

Ms. Bush--whose face has graced the covers of W, Town and Country and Tatler, has just returned from a fact-finding trip to Central America. Accompanied by her mother Sharon, Ms Bush witnessed the ravages of hunger firsthand and was convinced of the urgent need to take action

“Every five seconds, a child dies of hunger, and every day, 25,000 people die of hunger and hunger-related illnesses while at the same time over 800 million people in the world often go to bed hungry,” Ms. Bush said during a news conference at UN headquarters.

“While the statistics of hunger speak for themselves, it is the empathetic connection we feel for all human beings, far and near, that compels us to care for all humanity unnecessarily suffering from hunger,” said Ms. Bush.

“No human being can remain indifferent in the face of starvation,” Ms. Bush added. “In my case, it has inspired me to try and support those least able to help themselves. As a student, I intend to learn more about the issue and hope to encourage my peers to take action against hunger.”

Ms. Bush urged high school and university students to visit the new Web site—WarOnHunger.org and learn more about hunger. WarOnHunger.org is run by Friends of WFP, an organization dedicated to building support for action against hunger as well as for the work of WFP which last year fed over 100 million of the poorest people in the world, from war-torn Angola to Zimbabwe.

WarOnHunger.org has been designed to provide current information on global hunger, as well as suggestions on a variety of initiatives students can undertake including campus and community anti-hunger campaigns, fundraising events, and letter-writing appeals to elected officials, corporate and civic leaders.

“The WarOnHunger.org Web site is the perfect tool to empower students by enabling them to make concrete contributions in the eradication of hunger and easing the suffering of the poorest, weakest and most vulnerable people on the planet,” said Judy Cheng-Hopkins, the director of WFP’s New York office.

“We hope high school and university students will regularly visit WarOnHunger.org and learn about hunger, humanitarian crises, and how the lives of hundreds of millions of people have been threatened by chronic hunger, wars and natural disasters. At the same time, plans are underway to launch the Web site for students outside the United States. We have already begun replicating it for students in Denmark, Sweden, Norway and Finland and look forward to expanding in other economically developed nations.”

“Support for action against global hunger crosses all political lines,” said Rick Leach, Executive Director of Friends of WFP. “Members of Congress from both political parties stand together on this issue. However, it’s important to expand the base of Congressional support and make sure that all of our elected leaders are well-informed about the extent of the problem of hunger. Student commitment to this issue is critical to bringing about positive change.”

Among other things, Ms. Cheng-Hopkins encouraged students to join WFP’s “19 CENTS-A-DAY” campaign. The initiative is aimed at feeding poor and hungry students in school. It’s name comes from the fact that on average, it only costs 19 cents-a-day to feed a child in school, or $34 for the school year.

“Over 300 million children are either too hungry to go to school, or attend classes but don’t receive a meal,” Lauren Bush said. “For just $34--the cost of two CDs, we can change a child’s life for an entire school year.”

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