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U.N. Says 1999 Will Be Hungry Year

A U.N. study says more people will go hungry in 1999 due to major natural and man-made disasters that occurred in 1998.

By Associated Press

Start Date: 12/30/98

ROME (AP) -- A U.N. agency warned Wednesday that in 1999 more people around the world will face food shortages because of this year's man-made and natural disasters.

"We have to enter 1999 with the understanding that we may face an increased threat of famine, malnutrition and endemic hunger," Catherine Bertini, executive director of the World Food Program, said in a statement.

Bertini pointed to the continuing effects of crises such as Hurricane Mitch, which ravaged Central America in October, and economic crises in Asia and Russia, which still show few signs of abating.

She also said flare-ups of civil warfare in Kosovo and Angola threaten food supplies.

The Rome-based World Food Program is responsible for distributing emergency food aid.

[Disclaimer: This article is copyright (c) The Associated Press. The information contained in AP news reports may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or otherwise distributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press. This text is posted in the public interest.]




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