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The haunting
figure of 24 000 human beings perishing every
day from hunger still looms over the World Food
Summit goals of halving the number of hungry by
2015. The theme of this year’s World Food Day
focused on the need for an unparalleled
international relief effort to tackle hunger
around the world. “It is simply unacceptable in
this day and age that hunger and malnutrition
remain the number one cause of death worldwide,”
commented James T. Morris, Executive Director of
the World Food Programme (WFP). “Millions are
counting on us to remind the world of their
daily struggle, and the best way for them to be
heard is for all of us to speak with one loud
voice.”
The International Alliance Against Hunger has
been formed to unite the strength of many
different groups, including food producers and
consumers, international organisations,
governments, agribusiness, scientists,
academics, private individuals, policy makers,
religious groups and
non-governmental organisations (NGOs), to work together
in the
difficult task of reducing hunger worldwide.
“The International Alliance Against Hunger is a
way to push
aside apathy and indifference and
usher in a new era of cooperation and action, to
decrease and ultimately eliminate the scourge of
hunger,” the FAO stated. “In a time of ample
food production it is unacceptable that more
than
840 million [people] remain hungry … Too
many children
die before adulthood, too many
adults never reach their full potential, too
many nations are stalled on the road to
development.” The figures are frightening, more
than
1 person dies every 5 seconds due to
hunger, demonstrating the urgent need for
worldwide collaboration on the issue.
In Rome, the President of Uruguay, Jorge Batlle,
addressed the main World Food Day ceremony,
together with the
Italian Agriculture and
Forestry Policy Minister, Giovanni Alemanno, and
FAO Director-General, Jacques Diouf. “Nations
must turn verbal commitments to fight hunger
into practical programmes that address the
underlying causes of hunger,” Diouf told
high-level personalities from around the world,
assembled at the agency’s headquarters in Rome.
Monsignor Renato Volante, Permanent Observer of
the Holy See to FAO read a message from the
Pope, “The Alliance against hunger … must be
founded on the idea of the international
community as a family of nations committed to
pursuing the universal common good.” He added,
“Bringing about this Alliance requires the
exercise of solidarity on the part of
governments, international organisations, and
men and women of every continent.” A group of
NGOs presented anti-hunger strategies following
the ceremony, demonstrating the potential of an
Alliance Against Hunger. The audience included
five new FAO Ambassadors – celebrities who
promote FAO’s mission and message throughout the
world.
The good news is that leaders in an increasing
number of countries are boldly putting the fight
against hunger at the forefront of national
priorities. These leaders recognise that only
when people are well-nourished can they take
part in their nation’s economic and social
advancement. At the
1996 World Food Summit in
Rome leaders recommitted themselves to the fight
against hunger. The continued support in 2003
shows that governments have not forgotten their
commitment. At the World Food Day ceremony they
were urged to demonstrate it by putting in place
the right policies and implementing anti-hunger programmes, and they were reminded of their
commitments to make more development assistance
available for alleviating hunger.
The message at
the World Food Day ceremony 2003 was, “let us
all give priority to the war against hunger”.
UNAIDS announced on the same day, that the WFP
has joined UNAIDS as a co-sponsor. Together with
the
eight existing co-sponsors, WFP will
strengthen the
UN's response to the growing
HIV/AIDS epidemic, which claimed over three
million lives last year alone. As the world's
largest humanitarian agency, WFP focuses on
fighting HIV/AIDS through its food aid programmes.
WFP's food aid helps prolong the
lives of parents, enabling them to have a few
more precious weeks, months or maybe even years
to work and spend time with their families.
"Perhaps we cannot give them hope for a cure,
but we can give them time," said Morris. |
