Highlights:

- Prices still remain significantly higher compared to last year and long term averages, especially in Eastern and Southern Africa, Asia and Middle East. Overall, the impact on the cost of the food basket remains relatively high.

- As the year draws to a close, FAO's latest estimates confirm that a new record high level of global cereal production was achieved in 2008, sufficient to cover the expected increase in utilization in 2008/09 and also allow for a moderate replenishment of world reserves.

- Most of the increase in production this year has been among the developed countries, with that in the developing countries rising just marginally. In the developing group, outputs rose somewhat more among the Low-Income Food-Deficit Countries, especially in

The donation valued at one million U.S. dollars is part of the Chinese government's 4.5 million U.S. dollars worth of contributions, made in response to a global appeal by the WFP to address the hardships caused by high food and fuel prices.

In Lesotho, the Chinese government purchased 1,336 tons of maize meal from local farmers, enabling the WFP to feed 75,000

Problem Statement/Context: The Asia Pacific region has an emergency profile characterized by a combination of natural disasters, civil/political unrest with pockets of conflict situations, and recent emerging new global threats such as high food and fuel prices crisis, the threat of pandemic influenza and other emerging diseases. In terms of natural disasters, the Asia-Pacific region is considered specifically vulnerable to floods and landslides, a yearly recurrent consequence of the seasonal rains coupled to possible formation of cyclones during the

The contribution, in particular, will furnish alimentary assistance and rehabilitation of the poorest family under the programme named "Food assistance to vulnerable groups affected by food insecurity and HIV/AIDS".

The donation will cover needs identified by WFP."

- World cereal production in 2008 is forecast to increase 4.9 percent to a record 2 232 million tonnes, considerably up from earlier predictions after better than expected results from the major harvests gathered in the past two months.

- Based on the latest production forecast, a significant improvement in the global supply and demand balance for cereals in the 2008/09 season can be expected. Even allowing for a larger increase in utilization than was reported in July, an 8 percent increase in world cereal stocks could be possible.

- International prices of most cereals

When the World Bank published Rolling Back Malaria: The World Bank Global Strategy and Booster Program in 2005, the world had what now seems like a modest goal of halving malaria deaths in Africa by 2010. At the time, many thought that target unrealistic and doubted the commitment of both African and global partners to achieving it. Since then, an influx of new funding, new partners, and remarkable successes in several Sub- Saharan African countries have re energized the global malaria control movement. These developments, combined with a recognition

Lesotho, Swaziland, most of Namibia, parts of Angola, Madagascar and South Africa are likely to receive "normal to below-normal" rain in the first half of the season from October to December, said the forecast by the Drought Monitoring Centre of the Southern African Development Community (SADC).

This could have significant implications