Welthungerhilfe facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Abbreviation	WHH
Type	NGO
Purpose	development cooperation, humanitarian assistance
Headquarters	Bonn, Germany
Secretary General	Mathias Mogge
Chair of the Board	Marlehn Thieme
Website	www.welthungerhilfe.org

Welthungerhilfe (which means "World Hunger Help" in German) is a German charity. It is not linked to any religion or political group. This organization helps people around the world. They focus on helping countries grow and giving emergency aid.

Since it started in 1962, Welthungerhilfe has used over 4.2 billion euros. They have completed more than 10,000 projects. These projects have helped people in 70 countries across Africa, Latin America, and Asia. Welthungerhilfe is known for being very open about its work. In 2014, it was named one of Germany's most transparent charities.

What Welthungerhilfe Does

Welthungerhilfe has a big goal: to end hunger and poverty. They believe in helping people help themselves. This means they work with local groups in different countries. They support people's efforts to escape hunger and poverty. Their aim is to help communities become self-sufficient for the long term.

How Welthungerhilfe Started

Welthungerhilfe began in 1962. It was started by the German President at the time, Heinrich Lübke. The organization was part of a bigger global effort. This effort was called the "Freedom from Hunger Campaign." It was launched by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations.

In 1967, the organization changed its name to Deutsche Welthungerhilfe e. V. Many important people have led the organization over the years:

• 1962–1965: Fritz Dietz
• 1965–1968: Hans-Joachim von Merkatz
• 1968–1973: Heinrich Kraut
• 1973–1984: Claus W. Broicher
• 1984–1995: Helga Henselder-Barzel
• 1996–2008: Ingeborg Schäuble
• 2008–2018: Bärbel Dieckmann (as President)
• 2018–present: Marlehn Thieme

How Welthungerhilfe is Organized

Since it was founded, the current President of Germany has been the patron of Welthungerhilfe. This means the President supports the organization. In 2008, Welthungerhilfe changed how it was managed.

A new management structure was put in place. Bärbel Dieckmann, who was the mayor of Bonn, became the President in 2008. The organization is run by a Supervisory Board. This board has seven members who work without pay. They choose a three-person executive Board of Directors. Mathias Mogge became the Secretary General in 2018.

How Welthungerhilfe Gets Money

Welthungerhilfe gets money from different places. A lot of money comes from donations from people like you. In 2016, they received 44.7 million euros from private donations.

However, most of their work is paid for by grants from large organizations. These are called institutional grants. In 2016, they received 213.4 million euros this way. Some of their biggest donors include:

• The United Nations' World Food Programme (WFP)
• The German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ)
• The Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ)
• The European Commission (EU Commission)
• The Federal Foreign Office (German Federal Foreign Office)

They also get money from their own "Foundation Welthungerhilfe." In 2016, Welthungerhilfe spent a small part of its money on running the organization. They also spent some on telling people about their work.

What Welthungerhilfe Does to Help

Welthungerhilfe provides direct help during disasters. But they mostly support people in developing countries. They focus on helping with rural development and making sure people have enough food (called food security).

They also work on projects to rebuild important things like schools and roads. They help improve education and health care. They also support local groups to make communities stronger.

Working in Germany and Europe

In Germany and Europe, Welthungerhilfe works with other groups. They look closely at how development policies are made. They also try to convince governments to make good decisions. In 2016, they ran 17 projects in Germany. These projects helped people in Germany and Europe learn about global problems.

Welthungerhilfe also works with the children's charity terre des hommes. They publish a report about how development aid is working. They are part of a group called VENRO. This group includes many German charities that help with development and humanitarian aid.

They also work with Alliance2015, a group of seven European aid organizations. Together, they try to influence policies in Europe. Welthungerhilfe also creates teaching materials for schools. This helps students learn about global development. They also organize campaigns where people can get involved and help.

Global Hunger Index

Since 2006, Welthungerhilfe has worked with other organizations. They publish the annual Global Hunger Index every October. This index measures hunger around the world. It helps people understand where hunger is worst and how it is changing.

How Welthungerhilfe is Transparent

Being transparent means being open and clear about what you do. In 2014, a study looked at 50 aid organizations. It checked how open they were about their plans, activities, and results.

Welthungerhilfe shares information about its work clearly on its website. Because of this, it was named one of the most transparent organizations in Germany in December 2014. They shared this honor with another group called World Vision.

See also

• Viva con Agua de Sankt Pauli