SPEAKING IN Rome last night, the United Nations’ secretary general Ban Ki-Moon expressed his concern that even though the world has “more than enough” food, just over a billion people still go hungry. Mr Ban was speaking to reporters at the end of the first day of a three-day UN world summit on food security in Rome.
Mr Ban defended the work done by the summit, arguing that it represented a positive step on the road to next month’s Copenhagen summit on climate change.
He argued that the two summits, in Rome and Copenhagen, were linked and could still “lay the ground for food security for all”. In reference to the UN summit in Copenhagen, Mr Ban refused to be pessimistic, saying that “we still have everything to play for”.
With regard to this week’s summit, however, even Jacques Diouf, the director-general of the host organisation, the UN’s Rome-based Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), could not hide his dissatisfaction.
He said he regretted that the FAO declaration had failed to come up with “quantifiable data and deadlines” in relation to the world food crisis.
Inevitably, aid groups were equally unimpressed, with Oxfam commenting yesterday: “This summit announced a new strategy to tackle hunger by focusing on the poorest farmers – but it is uncosted, unfunded and unaccountable. The sentiment is honourable but that alone doesn’t put food on a billion empty plates. This food summit – as with next month’s climate summit – needs to produce action, but there is little time left.”
As had been predicted by various media leaks, the summit’s declaration is strong on a generic boost for agricultural aid to poor countries, but rather more vague on precise targets and deadlines.
“We are alarmed that the number of people suffering from hunger and poverty now exceeds one billion people. This is an unacceptable blight on the lives, livelihoods and dignity of one-sixth of the world’s population,” the declaration reads.
Holding up a small plastic cup at last night’s news conference, Josette Sheeran, head of the UN’s World Food Programme (WFP), said that the food emergency was so chronic that one billion people would not be able to fill the cup with food this morning.
She said the food crisis was not only an economic and humanitarian emergency but also a question of world peace and security. Much media comment this week has underlined the fact that Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi is the only G8 leader to attend this summit (and he may have been happy to attend as it enabled him to “opt out” of a court appearance in Milan, pleading commitments of state).
Talking to The Irish Times, however, Kanayo Nwanze, the Nigerian head of the UN's International Fund for Agricultural Development (Ifad), suggested that much of the onus for dealing with the hunger crisis now sat with developing world countries, saying: "What is the goal here? The goal is for developing countries to be able to move forward their own agendas. We had the G8 at L'Aquila, then at Pittsburgh, and they said then they were committing themselves to help developing countries grow more food. If they're not here today, then they're saying, listen, we've made our commitments now it's up to you . . ."
Earlier the summit had been addressed by Pope Benedict XVI, who argued that food security must become a key priority of international political action.
The pope called for new economic, juridical and ethical parameters which would inspired human solidarity and co-operation, closing with a quote from Second Corinthians (8:13-15): “He who gathered much had nothing over, and he who gathered little had no lack.”
The FAO food security summit closes tomorrow.