Are you keeping yours healthy?

07/23/2013

Syrian refugees receive humanitarian aid shopping vouchers at a distribution center of the World Food Program (WFP) organization in Amman April 11, 2013. The U.N. refugee agency and the WFP are distributing shopping vouchers to 170,000 Syrian refugees.

From VOA Learning English, welcome to As It Is. I’m Steve Ember.

Today, we tell about how the United Nations World Food Program is trying to help feed millions of Syrians, both inside and outside the country.

And we pass along surprising results of a worldwide study among people who have suffered a heart attack. Are they following doctors’ advice to eat a more healthful diet and exercise more? You’ll be surprised by the study results.

Finally, we tell about America’s first swimming school, established July 23, 1827. Some of its visitors were famous historic characters. But they may or may not have tried the water.

But first, we learn about U.N. efforts to prevent hunger caused by the war in Syria.

The United Nations launched a record appeal for more than five point one billion dollars last month. UN officials say the money is necessary to deal with the humanitarian crisis resulting from the civil war in Syria. They say the World Food Program, called the WFP for short, is among the agencies in greatest need.

In less than two months, the World Food Program will have used all its money for an operation that is feeding 2.5 million people inside Syria. The WFP operation also provides food for more than a million people who have fled to neighboring countries for safety.