Over a million Nepali children under five years old are unable to attend school simply for one reason: hunger. According to World Food Programme, nearly 47 percent of the population suffer from hunger and are not able to consume enough food daily.

"Ending hunger takes partnership," says WFP\'s acting director JP Margerie who announced today that Nepal will be participating the global fight against hunger campaign \'Walk the World\' in which around 750,000 people all around the world will be taking part on 21 May. The walk is also being organised in the capital during when over 1500 school children will be taking the lead. WFP hopes that most civilians, professionals and people from all walks of life will participate to gear the national attention towards the hunger problem of Nepal.

Initiated in 2003 by TNT, the global mail carrier, the anti hunger walk campaign has gained much popularity. Last year, over 200,000 participated in 266 locations and among the most popular venues were at Great Wall of China.

The duo celebrity group Hari Bangsa Acharya and Madan Krishna Shrestha, who have been selected as the goodwill ambassadors for WFP, will be following up with their promotional campaigns for the UN agency\'s Food for Education programme.

Introduced in 1996, the school feeding programme has helped to enrol over 200,000 children all over the country\'s food deficit districts. During the school year 2006-2007, it has aimed at feeding nearly 450,000 primary and lower secondary students who will receive daytime hot meal snack known as haluwa, made up of fortified blended food (maize, wheat and soya), vegetable ghee and sugar.