Rich must help the starving poor, says UN chief

The UN called on rich and powerful countries to tackle “unacceptable” global hunger at the start of a food summit today aimed at slashing the numbers of undernourished people.

“The world has more than enough food,” UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon told delegates at the meeting in Rome. “Yet, today, more than one billion people are hungry. This is unacceptable.”

The Pope will be among the opening speakers, adding his moral authority to what UN officials hope will be a solid start to a new strategy to help poor countries to produce enough to feed their own.

One in six people on the planet is now hungry, UN officials say.

The summit organised by the Rome-based UN Food and Agriculture Organisation agency lasts three days.