Our History
The story of Welthungerhilfe began in 1962. Almost 60 years later, emergency relief and sustainability are part of our key focuses.
"A huge portion of the human race… lives one drought, one flood, one crop failure away from starvation." These words were spoken by Binay Ranjan Sen, General Director of the UN Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO). Aware of his responsibility, in 1960 he initiated a global campaign against hunger and poverty.
The "Freedom from Hunger Campaign" prompted Federal President Heinrich Lübke to set up the "German Commission for the Fight Against Hunger" in 1962. In doing so, he wrote the first chapter of the history of Welthungerhilfe (WHH). Since then, the association has persistently followed its goal: to secure nourishment for all people. Now, some 50 years later, WHH is one of Germany's largest non-governmental aid organizations.
The vision remains
Emergency aid was the focus in the beginning; today WHH wants to focus primarily on long-range goals. The concept of empowering people to help themeselves became the principle of the association in the 1970s, when increasing donations and public funding also made long-term development projects possible. However, WHH was and remains a reliable partner in the event of famines, floods, droughts and earthquakes. And the vision of WHH remains steadfast: All people deserve the opportunity to lead a self-determined and dignified life.
We continue to believe that this is possible!
