An extra $5 billion a year in aid from the international community would eliminate child hunger in Africa, the executive director of the UN World Food Programme (WFP) has said.
Speaking on a visit to Dublin, James Morris praised the Government here, in particular, for the support it gives to the WFP, but he said "everyone needs to do a bit more" to eradicate hunger in the developing world.
He said issues in southern Africa, including HIV/Aids, were the "most serious humanitarian crisis in the world today".
The WFP director said Ireland had become one of the WFP's most important partners. "Ireland is our 7th best per-capita giver. The average gift from Ireland is $4.10 per citizen per year. The average in the world is $2.59 per person," Mr Morris said.
"The reason for coming is to talk about our joint work with the Irish Government and to say thank you.
"Ireland has become one of our most important partners, strongest donors, one of the highest per-capita givers in all the world and it sounds I suppose a bit trite to say this, but the spirit and I believe the really deep concern that the Irish people have for hungry people around the world is extraordinary.
"And the support that Ireland has made available comes with that special spirit of empathy and understanding of how serious the hunger issue is, especially for women and especially for children.
"Ireland has doubled its support for us in the last several years."
The Government supports the WFP through its Development Co-operation Ireland arm of the Department of Foreign Affairs and also through the Department of Agriculture.
Mr Morris expressed particular concern about southern Africa.
"The issues in southern Africa represent, in my judgment, the most serious humanitarian crisis in the world today. The combination, in a part of the world that is already very very poor, huge poverty issues. But tough weather this year has led to great food insecurity. The HIV/Aids issues is overwhelming in its impact on families, on institutions and [it has] a huge impact on women and children.
"Thousands of teachers have died of HIV. Thousands of health professionals have died or are sick or left, and the same for agricultural workers. Seven million people in agriculture have lost their lives to HIV in sub-Saharan Africa. It's more than the entire on-the-farm population of North America."
Mr Morris said there were between 14 and 15 million orphans because either one or both parents had died from HIV/Aids. Life expectancy in that part of the world had dropped from the mid-60s to the low 30s.
"The burden on women in this part of the world is almost beyond comprehension. They do 80 per cent of the agriculture, they now have 60 per cent of the HIV infections, they do all of the home care, all of the food preparation, it's extraordinary," he said.
Mr Morris said there were 852 million people suffering from hunger in the world, including 300 million children. Some 23,000 people die of hunger every day, including 18,000 children - the equivalent, he said, of 45 jumbo jets full of children every day.
"When I think of the Millennium Development Goals of cutting hunger and poverty in half, of reducing infant mortality, improving maternal health, gender equity, universal primary education, HIV, tuberculosis, malaria - food and nutrition are at the base of progress in every one of those.
"And if in 10 years we could eliminate child hunger in the world, we would achieve the MDGs and we would have a powerful, highly leveraged impact on peace and on prosperity and on economics, but most importantly, it's the moral, humanitarian, right thing to do. But it's do-able, it's not an expensive proposition to eliminate hunger in the world among children."
Mr Morris will meet a number of Irish NGOs who work with the World Food Programme this afternoon, including Concern, Trocaire and Goal.