‘Feed the world’ project needs to get back on track

NEXT week, world leaders will gather in New York for the 10th anniversary of the UN millennium development goals.

Wed, 15 Sep, 2010 - 01:00

With the number of hungry people in the world at a record high of more than one billion, the promises to halve the proportion of hungry people and child malnutrition by 2015 remain significantly off track.

The number of hungry people in the world has been growing, made substantially worse by the food price and financial crises.

It is unacceptable that one in six people is going to bed hungry, with malnutrition contributing to at least 3.5 million maternal and child deaths each year.

Tackling hunger is vital to the achievement of all the millennium development goals — yet hunger reduction has failed to make it as a top priority at the summit. We are therefore left asking: what is it going to require for leaders to take decisive collective action with only five years left?

As the summit gets under way, we urge heads of state, governments and UN agencies not to forget the plight of the hungry and malnourished. We further call on them to agree a roadmap to meet the hunger target. Such a roadmap must comprehensively address child malnutrition and make linkages between hunger and health, recognise the crucial role and rights of women as food producers and carers, and prioritise improving the affordability of nutritious foods.

Tom Arnold

CEO

Concern Worldwide

Chris Leather

Food Security Adviser

Oxfam International

Helen Keogh

CEO

World Vision Ireland

Marius Wanders

Secretary General

Caritas Europa