Queen Sofia of Spain receives UN agriculture award for aid ending hunger
The United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) today awarded the Ceres Medal to Queen Sofia of Spain in recognition of her efforts to raise the living standards of rural women in developing countries.
The United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) today awarded the Ceres Medal to Queen Sofia of Spain in recognition of her efforts to raise the living standards of rural women in developing countries.
The Ceres Medal – named after the Roman goddess of agriculture – is awarded to distinguished women who have made an outstanding contribution to agricultural development and food security. Previous recipients include Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, Panamanian President Mireya Moscoso, and Mother Teresa of Calcutta, who fought destitution.
During today’s ceremony in Madrid, FAO Director-General, Jacques Diouf said the award was for Queen Sofia’s “commitment to the most exploited people on the planet," and emphasized her support for microcredit programmes helping rural women escape poverty.
Bangladesh, Mexico, Chile and Colombia are among the countries Queen Sofia has visited to support the Grameen Bank – the "Bank of the Poor - which provides microcredit facilities to help rural women set up businesses. Roughly 70 per cent of the world's 854 million hungry people live in rural areas.
Diouf also emphasized Queen Sofia's willingness to personally visit many emergency and rehabilitation operations mounted in the wake of natural disasters, such as Hurricane Mitch in 1998 and the 2001 El Salvadoran earthquake. She has also traveled to Central America to support a special FAO food security programme.
During his visit to the Spanish capital, Diouf also inaugurated a new FAO information office aimed at better publicizing the UN agency’s work to build closer ties with the Spanish government, NGOs and civil society. The office, which will also handle Portugal, is part of a broader decentralization plan, which will see similar offices opened in the coming months elsewhere in Europe, including London, Stockholm and Berlin.
Dr Diouf’s visit to Madrid also coincided with the signing of a Cooperation Agreement with the Ibero-American General Secretariat committing joint assistance in three main areas: the Hunger-Free Latin America by 2025 project, preventing avian flu, foot-and-mouth and other diseases on the continent, and supporting the FAO Special Programme for Food Security in several Central American countries.