U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton today congratulated Ambassador Ertharin Cousin on her appointment by United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and Food and Agriculture Organization Director General Jose Graziano da Silva to serve as the next Executive Director of the World Food Programme.
Ms. Clinton said for over 50 years, the World Food Programme has played a vital role in reducing global hunger, poverty and undernutrition worldwide, providing assistance to millions of men, women, and children in desperate need.
She noted it has been an honor to support Ambassador Cousin’s work as U.S. Ambassador and Permanent Representative to the United Nations Agencies for Food and Agriculture in Rome, where she has been central to designing and implementing our country’s food security policies.
“I am confident that she will continue to be a powerful voice in the global fight against hunger and lend her energy, optimism and experience to the World Food Programme.” -Ms. Clinton
WFP is the UN’s front-line food assistance agency and the world’s largest humanitarian organization, providing food to an average of 90 million people (including 58 million children) per year. Hunger is still the biggest health threat in the world, affecting nearly 1 billion people. Hunger kills more people every year than AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis combined. WFP fights hunger via emergency aid, recovery and rebuilding programs for post-emergency situations, and development projects aimed at helping poor countries strengthen their own ability to reduce chronic hunger.
