[FAO NEWS RELEASE - www.fao.org] Contact Peter Mayer FAO Media Relations (Rome) (+39) 06 570 53304 [log in to unmask]<mailto:[log in to unmask]> Prince of Wales visits FAO, expresses admiration for efforts to tackle hunger crises Praises United Kingdom support for Rome-based UN food agencies' work 5 April 2017, Rome - Prince Charles of Wales today visited FAO where he was briefed by officials from the three Rome-based UN food agencies on the massive hunger crises facing northeastern Nigeria, Somalia, South Sudan and Yemen. The heir to the British throne met FAO Director-General José Graziano da Silva and senior representatives from the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) and the World Food Programme (WFP). During his visit, Prince Charles inspected photos and maps detailing the situation in some of the four countries where a total of 30 million people are severely food insecure. The situation has been described as the world's largest food crisis since 1945. In February the UN declared a famine<http://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/471251/icode/> in South Sudan - where at least 100,000 people face starvation - and the three other countries are on the brink of famine. In a video link from Mogadishu, FAO's Representative in Somalia, Richard Trenchard, provided an update on efforts by FAO and its partners to stave off famine in the country where, protracted conflict is exacerbated by successive droughts caused by climate change. Prince Charles said he was "immensely proud of Britain's response and contribution" in supporting the efforts of the UN agencies. "Would you give my kindest wishes and admiration to all your colleagues and staff who are working in such very challenging and difficult circumstances," the Prince of Wales said. According to Trenchard, due to ongoing relief and emergency work, it was unlikely that Somalia would suffer widespread famine this year. "However the situation remains really dire. Hunger, starvation and livelihood devastation and of course death are very real risks," he added, noting that security remains a critical issue in the Horn of Africa country. More than 6 million people face acute food insecurity in Somalia and most of them live in rural areas where hunger levels have spiked primarily due to losses in crop and livestock production and other sources of food and income. FAO together with other UN agencies and partners have implemented in Somalia a series of measures including providing cash (cash-for-work and unconditional cash transfers), meeting immediate food and water needs, providing agriculture and fisheries based livelihood support, and saving livestock assets. During his visit to FAO's headquarters, Prince Charles also participated in a round-table with senior representatives from the UN agency. Topics discussed included the 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda<http://www.fao.org/sustainable-development-goals/overview/en/> and the Paris Agreement<http://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/358257/icode/> on climate change how these affect the agricultural sectors - including forestry, fisheries, crops and livestock and FAO's work in assisting member states combat hunger and poverty. | read this story online<http://bit.ly/1jpnaGV> | [2017/50en] Journalists & editors: For photos, audio clips, video material & b-roll, contact: (+39) 06 570 53625 or [log in to unmask]<mailto:[log in to unmask]>. Online tools: Photos via the FAOnews Flickr account<http://www.flickr.com/photos/faonews> FAO's online newsroom<http://www.fao.org/news/newsroom-home/en/> RSS feed<http://www.fao.org/news/rss-feed/en/> of FAO news releases Follow us on Twitter: @FAOnews<https://twitter.com/faonews/> | @grazianodasilva<https://twitter.com/grazianodasilva/> This news release was issued by the Media Office at the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). To unsubscribe from this news service click the link below or send an email to [log in to unmask]<mailto:[log in to unmask]> with "signoff Media-G-Eng-L" as the only text in the message body. You can also manage your subscription online, here<https://listserv.fao.org/cgi-bin/wa>. To receive news releases in plain text format rather than HTML, contact us. FAO | Viale delle Terme di Caracalla, 00153 Rome, Italy | (+39) 06 570 53625 | www.fao.org<http://www.fao.org> ######################################################################## To unsubscribe from the Media-G-Eng-L list, click the following link: &*TICKET_URL(Media-G-Eng-L,SIGNOFF);