Time to act to combat global hunger is now, Ireland tells UN debate

The fact that one billion people on the planet suffer from hunger represents a collective failure by the international community, Ireland told the General Assembly today, stressing that the time to act together to eradicate this scourge is now.

“Hunger is the result of many failings,” Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Peter Power said in his address to the Assembly’s annual high-level General Debate. “Its eradication, and nothing less than its eradication, must be our goal.”

Ireland, which has experienced famine in its own land, has placed food security and related sectors as a cornerstone of its aid programme, he noted, adding that it aims to ensure that 20 per cent of its assistance by 2012 is focused on hunger.

Mr. Power said he was very encouraged by the event held at UN Headquarters on Saturday, under the leadership of Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and United States Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, on boosting global food security.

Speaking at that event, Mr. Ban said last year’s food crisis highlighted the fact that the world’s food systems are in crisis, that they are failing too many people and many of the poorer nations. “There is more than enough food in the world, yet today, more than one billion people are hungry. This is unacceptable,” he told the gathering.

Mr. Power said it is clear what needs to be done to ensure a world free from chronic hunger. “We must tackle hunger in a comprehensive way to move from responding to symptoms to addressing the fundamental causes.”

In addition, it is necessary to invest in agriculture and agricultural research, and in particular to support women farmers, as well as to invest in rural infrastructure, enhance nutrition and support national and regional plans.

“Our aim is to halve the number of hungry by 2015,” the Minister noted, referring to one of the eight globally agreed Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). But despite the wealth and advanced technology available in the world, the number of hungry is growing daily.

“We have a small window of time to achieve this objective. The time for concerted action by all of us is now.”

Among the areas that have been particularly hard hit is the Horn of Africa, where UN officials predict that hunger is likely to grow owing to a combination of poor crop prospects, below-average rainfall, violence and displacement.

“The number of people suffering from poverty and hunger has not been reduced; it has rather multiplied in many folds,” Eritrea’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Osman Saleh, told the Assembly. He said that the peoples of Africa have been “victims of poverty and hunger,” and cited the need for “fundamental” change in the UN to not only preserve peace and security, but also to eradicate poverty and hunger.

Food security, said Angola’s Minister of External Relations, is one of the main concerns of the African continent due to its importance to health, productivity, social and political stability and economic growth.

“Hunger and poverty, aggravated by the fact that they are linked to endemic diseases such as malaria and tuberculosis, cause millions of deaths annually in Africa and are devastating an entire generation, dramatically jeopardizing the development and progress of the continent,” Assunção Afonso dos Anjos told the Assembly.

He said he believed it is possible to substantially reduce the food security deficit in Africa if the international community is willing to maintain reserves of food and medicines for emergency aid and people in need, as well as work to adopt national and regional integrated strategies and programmes in areas such as agriculture, trade, transports, water, and training.