UNITED NATIONS

To combat world hunger
and malnutrition, the
Food and Agriculture
Organization (FAO)
announced on February
15 that it would be hosting the World Food Summit between
November 13 to 17. at FAO's headquarters
in Rome. The Summit will be attended by
heads of state and will be the first gathering to discuss world hunger since the meet
hosted in 1974. Said Jacques Diouf, director
general of FAO, "We are in a crisis situation," referring to fast depleting food
stocks of the world.

The World Health Organization said
recently that if adequate control measures are continued. leprosy -the dreaded infection -could dissappear in
the first part of the 21st century. The
disease which is now curable. particularly
affects the skin, the nervous system and
mucous membranes. Statistics reveal that
leprosy cases have dropped between 1991
and 1995 from 5.5 million to 1.8 million
which is equivalent to a 67 per cent
decrease.