UN launches app to mark Ramadan

To mark the holy month of Ramadan, ShareTheMeal, the official app of the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) is launching two fundraising campaigns. One of these campaigns will help prevent famine in Yemen and another will support Syrian and Lebanese children in Lebanon.

The app allows users to provide vital food and to support the refugees fight against hunger.

For the first time this year, ShareTheMeal has a function giving users the option to choose where to send their donation. The first two countries to be included are Yemen and Lebanon. With the app, users can share vital food and nutrition with hungry communities by simply tapping on their smartphones and donating $0.50 (Dh1.8) or more.

The ShareTheMeal community recently contributed to the WFP's famine response in South Sudan, where users shared one million meals with those people in need in just over one month.

"Through ShareTheMeal, everyone in the global community can make a difference in the lives of our brothers and sisters in Yemen and Lebanon," said WFP executive director David Beasley. "What we all do together truly does save lives and change lives, step by step."

Recent features in Google Play and Apple App Store, including Apple's current 'Ramadan Essentials', allow the app to engage many smartphone users in the WFP's efforts to achieve zero hunger. The WFP is funded entirely by contributions from governments, companies and individuals.

More than 830,000 people have downloaded the app and shared over 13 million meals with thousands of vulnerable children in Jordan, Syria, Lebanon, Malawi and Cameroon.

The WFP is the world's largest humanitarian agency fighting hunger worldwide, delivering food assistance in emergencies and working with communities to improve nutrition and build resilience. Each year, the WFP assists some 80 million people in around 80 countries.

Source: Khaleej Times