March to fight child hunger

March to defeat hunger! Hundreds of thousand of people are expected to take part in marching on Sunday to urge to stop child hunger. Most of the World will be involved in this action – and even parts of the virtual world.

Marking its fifth anniversary, Walk the World will take place over a 24-hour period, starting in New Zealand, with marches covering an average 5 kilometers (3.1 miles), the U.N. World Food Program said in a statement.

Hundreds of marches have been planned across all continents and a virtual walk, along with live music events, will take place in the animated online world called Second Life.

"Every five seconds a child dies of hunger," said John M. Powell, the agency's deputy executive director. "It is an unacceptable reality that calls for all of us to speak out so as not to let indifference smother this tragedy."

Funds raised by the walk will go to WFP's Global School Feeding Program, which provides free school meals to more than 19 million children in developing countries, the Rome-based agency said.

Last year, Walk the World brought out 700,000 people in more than 100 countries to take part in 400 marches.