Food aid unaffected, so far

Independent relief organization Welthungehilfe said in its annual report that Germany's contributions to the world's poorest countries have not yet been affected by the so-called euro crisis. However the paper, published on Tuesday, warned politicians not to forget the millions of people worldwide threatened by starvation.

"At the moment there are no immediate effects. But that could change very quickly," The Welthungerhilfe president, Bärbel Dieckmann, told reporters in Berlin: "that would be a catastrophe. We need reliable financing."

The Welthungerhilfe non-governmental organisation, whose name roughly translates as "World Hunger Aid," said it had its third-best year ever in 2011 in terms of charitable donations. People gave the organization 48.2 million euros ($60 million) last year, with almost 80 million more coming from state organizations such as the development ministry.

Dieckmann said that the Sahel region in Africa, which crosses the continent at the south of the Sahara desert, was one at-risk area in danger of neglect. She said some 8 million people there were threatened by drought, poor harvests and rising food prices.

The drought in the Horn of Africa and fears of a subsequent famine prompted great generosity in 2011, Dieckmann said, with Welthungerhilfe receiving 17 million euros in donations for this region alone.

The Welthungerhilfe NGO celebrates the fiftieth anniversary of its foundation this year.

msh/jm (dpa, epd, KNA)