World Bank, UN launch mechanism to prevent famine

UNITED NATIONS, Sept. 23 (Xinhua) -- The World Bank, the United Nations and other partners on Sunday launched the Famine Action Mechanism (FAM), the first global initiative dedicated to preventing famine.

The mechanism, with the support of global technology companies, including Microsoft, Google and Amazon Web Services, seeks to change the status quo of delayed response and to move toward famine prevention, preparedness and early action, said the organizations in a joint press release.

The initiative will use the predictive power of data to trigger funding through appropriate financing instruments, and will work closely with existing systems, they said.