http://www.angolapress-angop.ao/noticia-e.asp?ID=403579
Arab royalty in Malawi to see hunger "face to face"
Blantyre, Malawi, 12/29 - Princess Haya Bint al Hussein, daughter of the late King Hussein of Jordan, spend a daylong visit to Malawi on Wednesday to see first-hand the impact of the food crisis affecting the poor southern African country.
Princess Haya, who is the UN World Food Programme (WFP)`s Goodwill Ambassador, told PANA at the end of her day-long tour her visit was touching as she has seen "hunger face-to-face."
She added: "I have had a fascinating day and I can`t ever seen my life ever being the same after what I have seen today. I will be able to eloquently tell the world how hunger looks like and how it is affecting people, not only in Malawi, but the world over."
The princess, who is married to the Crown Prince of Dubai, the United Arab Emirates` Defence Minister, General Sheik Mohammed bin Rashid al Maktoum, arrived in the country on a chartered flight.
On arrival she drove to a remote village in the southern district of Chiradzulu, 20 km east of the commercial capital, Blantyre.
"I want to talk to people and understand what they are going through so I can speak to the world on their behalf," she said. "Malawi experiences food shortages every year...and the cameras are not always there to tell the world" the story.
She visited a WFP food distribution site in the district where - seated on a simple plastic chair - she interacted with hungry villagers, including old men and women, children orphaned by AIDS and people living with HIV/AIDS.
Dressed casually in trousers and a WFP blazer, the princess heard from the villagers how dry spells had affected harvest of the staple food maize. She also heard of how HIV/AIDS had weakened a lot of them from working in their gardens.
Princess Haya, an accomplished athlete who has won several international accolades in Equestrian Sport (Show Jumping), displayed her athletic prowess when she sprinted for cover when a heavy downpour interrupted her visit.
Later she told PANA: "I have seen hunger face-to-face. Poverty is often only a file on someone`s desk until they are confronted with its realities."
She added: "It is unforgivable that, in this day and age, people are still living under such dire circumstances and are suffering from extreme hunger and poverty. It`s insane that this is happening in the world today and there should be more done to stop it."
According to the WFP, some ten million people in six countries in southern Africa are on the brink of starvation after failed harvests in the region.
In Malawi alone, five million people are said to be in urgent need of food aid, the UN agency said.
The WFP`s traditional Western donors have been from the USA, Britain, the European Union and Scandinavian countries.
Domenic Scalpelli, the WFP country director for Malawi, said Princess Haya`s visit provided a perfect opportunity for the UN agency to start speaking to the oil-rich Arab states and tap their huge potential for assistance.
"She became the first Arab and first woman to take up this position (of WFP Goodwill Ambassador) and she chose Malawi because she was shocked with what she read and listened on the hunger situation here," he said.
Princess Haya flew back home to Dubai late Wednesday.
Also.Malawi hunger shocks Jordanian princess
by Isaac Masingati, 31 December 2005 - 04:07:19
Her Royal Highness Princess Haya Bint Al Hussein of Jordan Thursday said she was shocked with the extent of the food crisis in the country.
Princess Haya was on her first field visit as a United Nations World Food Programme’s Goodwill Ambassador to see the impact of the food crisis in the country.
Speaking after visiting a WFP food distribution centre in Chiradzulu and a children’s nutrition and rehabilitation centre at Queen Elizabeth Central Hospital (QECH) in Blantyre, Haya said she was touched to see how people, particularly children, were affected by the food shortage.
She said she would raise alarm for international awareness now that she had seen how children were suffering from the food shortage and how people were affected by HIV and Aids.
“Much of the world’s attention is focused on major crisis areas, but Malawi experiences food shortages every year, and the cameras are not always there to tell the world,” said Haya.
She said she was touched by the food crisis in Malawi because of, among other things, the high prevalence of HIV and Aids which has made people’s livelihood extremely fragile.
Haya, who was made WFP’s Goodwill Ambassador last October by WFP’s Executive Director, James Morris, said it was sad that the world had become used to seeing the faces of hungry children on television clips yet no one does anything to change that.
“What we see on the screen is nothing compared to what is actually on the ground and I feel that it is my duty to experience that myself and relay it to the world,” she said.
Up to 4.9 million people in the country need food assistance and the WFP is providing half of the requirement.
Haya, who came with a tight security of six officers and five officials, flew in on a 200-seat American Arab Emirates (UAE) chartered plane and left for Dubai the same day.
She is daughter of late King Hussein Bin Talal of Jordan and wife of General Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, crown prince of Dubai and defence minister of the UAE.
In his remarks, WFP country director Momenico Scalpelli said his organisation would scale up food distribution from the current 1.3 million people to 2.4 in January.
................