'Sustainable food security must be global target'

By G. Venkataramani

BONN, SEPT. 5. ``Fighting global hunger and poverty must be at the top of political agenda worldwide. Enormous efforts are needed to achieve the goal of sustainable food security for all by 2020. The public must accept that global hunger and poverty is a scandal, and it cannot be tolerated,'' declared Mr. Johannes Rau, President of the Federal Republic of Germany.

In his opening remarks on Tuesday at the inaugural session of the international conference on ``Sustainable Food Security for All by 2020'' organised here by the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), Washington DC, the President said despite concerted efforts to end global hunger and poverty in the past two decades, still about 24,000 people die of hunger every day. About 800 million people, one-eighth of humanity, lack the food they need to lead healthy, productive lives.

Around 170 million children suffer from malnutrition serious enough to jeopardise their chances of becoming healthy adults. He cited several cases of hunger and malnutrition problems in Africa, and also applauded the African initiatives to reverse the trend. Though these steps had received strong international support and commitment, they were hampered by inadequacies, he said. He also complemented the efforts in fighting hunger and malnutrition in south-east Asia.

Mr. Apollo Nsibambi, Prime Minister of Uganda, in his address said many developing countries lacked sound food policies to address the problems of hunger and malnutrition. A concrete time- table was needed to ensure sustainable food security for all by 2020, and it should have radical reforms and strong political will and commitment, according to him.

Ms. Heidemarie Wieczorek-Zeul, Federal Minister for Economic Cooperation and Development, Germany, said both developed and developing countries should jointly mobilise resources to fight hunger and malnutrition globally. ``New opportunities for achieving this goal should, in consultation with developing countries, be carefully looked into and appropriate risk management and regulatory strategies should be put in place,'' she emphasised.

Ms. Barbel Dieckmann, Lady Mayor of Bonn, said it was the responsibility of everyone in the democratic world to fight global hunger, and there was hope that this goal could be achieved with collective spirit.

Dr. Per Pinstrup-Andersen, Director-General, IFPRI, said even if those responsible gave high priority to achieving sustainable food security for all and backed it up with action, the world might not achieve the goal by 2020. ``But we will be much closer than the business as usual. I urge all of us to provide the strongest support for the World Food Summit goal of reducing food insecurity and malnutrition by half by 2015,'' he said.

Unless priority is given to finding a solution for food and nutrition problems, the human misery and economic waste embodied in food insecurity and malnutrition will continue at high levels, according to him.

Dr. Geoff Miller, chairman of the Board of Trustees, IFPRI, introduced the theme of the conference. Ms. Rajul Pandya-Lorch, head of the 2020 Vision Initiative at IFPRI, highlighted the importance of getting the commitment from various governments, NGOs, and development agencies and private sector initiatives for the common cause of ending hunger and malnutrition in the world. About 1,500 people are attending the three-day conference.

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Section  : International
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