Alexandria, VA – Islamic Relief USA Chief Executive Officer Anwar Khan is featured in the second episode of Bread For The World’s web series, “The Hunger Reports,” in which he discusses the need to be in the forefront in fighting hunger, especially in areas torn by conflicts.
“The enemy is hunger and starvation,” Khan said in the video. “That’s the war we need to be having.”
In the four-minute video, scheduled for release on Monday, Khan said the two biggest problems facing the world are the displacement of some 65 million people around the world and the largest famine since World War II. Both of these crises are stemmed from hunger.
Khan is concerned that a sense of complacency has settled in the minds of the general population when it comes to addressing problems like famine.
“People have become bored with famines in Africa,” Khan stated. “We can’t be bored of our fellow brothers and sisters in humanity.”
He gave the example of Syria, a country that has been devastated by war since 2011.
“Some of the people we’re helping in Syria are living in caves. They lost hope. There is a generation we’re worried about, the young kids that have no hope for the future.”
The problems don’t end once the physical war concludes, Khan cautioned.
“After the war is over, we still deal with the effects of the war for many years.”
To address those issues, Khan said there need to be effective development programs to prevent nations from falling into a state of chaos, which could threaten to lose future generations because of insufficient opportunities in education, disease prevention, and job opportunities.
Bread For The World estimates that more than 20 million people worldwide are at risk for starvation in countries like Yemen, Somalia, South Sudan and Nigeria.
See video below:
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Islamic Relief USA, based in Alexandria, Va., is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) humanitarian organization. Its mission is to alleviate suffering, hunger, illiteracy and disease regardless of color, race, gender or creed, and to provide aid in a compassionate and dignified manner. Islamic Relief USA aims to provide rapid relief in the event of human and natural disasters and to establish sustainable local development projects, allowing communities to better help themselves. Its programs benefit millions of people each year around the world, including in the United States.
Islamic Relief USA meets all of the Standards for Charity Accountability of the BBB Wise Giving Alliance, a national charity monitoring group affiliated with the Better Business Bureau system. Islamic Relief USA is on the U.S. government’s Combined Federal Campaign (CFC) charity list, and it is also a signatory to the code of conduct of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies.