APCOM

"Fill the cup" is a major international fundraising and awareness initiative intended to benefit millions of hungry school children in the whole world. It was announced today in Milano by the world's largest humanitarian agency, the United Nations World Food Program that has its premises in the Italian city.

The initiative aims at filling a cup with food for all of the 59 million children who go to school hungry throughout the developing countries around the world. "A child dies of hunger every six seconds. WHO has declared hunger and malnutrition the number-one threat to public health," said Josette Sheeran, Executive Director of the World Food Programme.

Partners in "Fill the Cup" include: FIFA World Player of the Year, Kakà, who is also WFP's Ambassador against Hunger, Ghana and African Union President John Agyekum Kufuor and Milan's Mayor Letizia Moratti who explained: "Through the candidacy for Expo 2015, Milan and Italy have offered to the international community, their skills and energy in order to tackle together the huge challenges of our time, to create a truly sustainable future".

"Feeding the planet, energy for life" (which is the theme chosen for the bid) - added Mrs Moratti - conveys the core motives of our commitment to the Millennium Campaign and to the other Un programs".

"I come from a country where I've seen first-hand how hunger can rob a child's potential" said Kaka, a native of Brazil. "So I'm very proud to call on soccer fans and others to help Fill the Cup and lay a foundation for our future." President John Agyekum Kufuor said school feeding has helped Ghana to stay on track to achieve the Millennium Development Goals, the first of which is to halve hunger and poverty by 2015. WFP is partnering with the city of Milan, which has made world hunger one of the key elements of its campaign to secure the World Expo.