(Xinhua)
Updated: 2007-09-07 21:39

DALIAN -- The World Economic Forum (WEF) put forward an initiative on Friday at ongoing summer meeting in northeastern China's port city of Dalian to help children suffering from hunger in the underdeveloped countries.

Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao waves to delegates after his speech at the World Economic Forum in Dalian September 6, 2007. [Reuters]

The project, called "Table for Two", aims to address hunger in the underdeveloped world and obesity in the developed countries at the same time.

"Every time someone eats a healthy meal at the cafeterias or restaurants of a company participating in the project, 20 US cents should be donated to fund a healthy school meal in poor countries," said James Kondo, president of the Japanese Health Policy Institute and principal in charge of the initiative.

One billion people in the world are suffering from hunger including 400 million children while another one billion are suffering from obesity, he said.

To support the initiative, healthy means are offered at the ongoing Young Global Leaders Annual Summit held here from September 4 to 8 and Inaugural Annual Meeting of the New Champions.

It is expected that some 2,000 people participated in both events and thus the fund donated from every lunch could support 9,000 school meals, equivalent to meals for about 45 children throughout a year.

The program had been tentatively carried out in Japan for six months and many multi-nationals participated in it, said James Kondo. Employees of Japan Airlines had collected 200,000 Japanese yen in ten days for those people in hunger. The fund would be transferred by the UN World Food Program.

WEF Executive Chairman Klaus Schwab highly appreciated the project, calling for WEF members to participate in it.

The member companies have an average of 10,000 employees, if ten percent of them participate in the program, one million children can be fed every day, Schwab said.