TNT Logistics UK helps to fight world hunger
01 May 2003 - 09:19 CET
TNT Logistics UK, headquartered at Atherstone, has set itself the challenge of raising £70,000 in 2003 to help feed hungry people around the world. The business has already raised a massive £21,000 towards its target, through a variety of fund-raising schemes, including football matches, dress-down days, raffles and quiz nights.The fund-raising follows a groundbreaking initiative launched last December, involving TNT Logisics' parent company, TNT Post Group (TPG), and the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP). By teaming up with the world's largest humanitarian aid agency, TPG has committed to sharing its resources and know-how in order to make a lifesaving difference.
Each day 800 million people go to bed hungry. And every five seconds a child dies from malnutrition. Yet our planet produces more than enough food to provide for its entire population. Quite simply, solving hunger is mainly a matter of logistics.
The initiative, called Moving the World, has become the cornerstone of TPG's commitment to corporate social responsibility on a global scale. UN Secretary General Kofi Annan, a strong proponent of public-private sector partnerships, welcomed the news of TPG's proposal and expressed full confidence in the new venture. WFP Executive Director James Morris proclaimed it as "the single best thing that could happen to the World Food Programme."
Implementation of the partnership focuses on five project initiatives: Emergency Response, Joint Logistics Supply Chain, Transparency and Accountability, School Feeding Support and Private Sector Fundraising. These are areas that WFP and TPG decided together would be the most effective and project teams are led jointly by senior managers from both TPG and WFP.
WFP has been the UN's logistics arm for humanitarian aid for some time. The agency's success in providing economical and reliable logistics services has meant that last year they were also mandated to lead the UN Joint Logistics Centre operation, and Common Air Services could well be added to their responsibilities in the future.
- People who go to bed hungry: 800 million
- People who die every day from hunger and related causes: 24,000 (one child dies every seven seconds)
- Number of people who ate WFP food in 2001: 77 million
