Donations by the Irish Government to the World Food Programme have almost tripled in the past five years, writes James T. Morris.
My Irish colleagues fighting hunger in places such as Zimbabwe, Sudan and North Korea say there are many parallels with the Great Hunger of 1846-50: countrysides and shanty towns dotted with barely-marked graves; poor families forced to decide between a decent burial for a loved one and food for the survivors.
Just as Irish farmers in the 1840s sold all their possessions to buy potato seeds, only to see the plants consumed by blight, poor families in Africa, Asia and Latin America are often forced to sell their entire assets to avoid starvation when emergency strikes.
A single calamity - a drought destroying their crops or a flood their home - can bring destitution. We see countries exporting food, even while significant portions of their populations cannot put nearly enough on the table.
The Irish understand all too well the destructive power of hunger and poverty, and how these afflictions can force millions to leave home in search of a better future. The Irish exodus, of course, helped shape some of today's most dynamic societies, including my own - the United States.
Sharp reductions in malnutrition rates spurred the industrial revolution and the dramatic improvements in productivity that followed. Proper nutrition and a good education are essential for a country to compete successfully in today's global economy. Ireland's economic achievements are not just a shining example for those now struggling, but also the envy of many a Western nation.
To an outsider, one of the most evident legacies of the Great Hunger is the determination and generosity of Ireland's people. In fact, Ireland has consistently reached out to those who still struggle with hunger.
Donations by the Irish Government to the World Food Programme have almost tripled in the past five years, to €2.50 per citizen last year. The Government is right on track towards its goal of giving 0.7 per cent of its GDP in aid by 2007.
A recent survey showed that most people in Ireland would be willing to pay more in taxes for overseas aid. There are few people anywhere willing to pay more in taxes, no matter how good the cause!
A disproportionate number of Irish people have also chosen to go abroad to lend a hand. We are proud to work alongside the dedicated workers of Concern and Goal to bring relief to the hunger victims around the world.
Support for their work among Irish people is stronger than ever. Last year alone, Concern raised more than €40 million.
The Irish experience and its striking resemblance to some of the situations we face today led the World Food Programme, the world's largest humanitarian organisation, to choose Dublin as the venue for a landmark gathering of more than 200 of its most senior staff. This group of professional humanitarian workers will chart a course to take WFP from where we are now - feeding more than 100 million people in 81 countries - to where we need to be, at the forefront of efforts to halve the number of hungry people worldwide to 400 million by 2015.
The fact is, however, that the world is going backwards in the fight against hunger. In the second half of the 1990s, the number of hungry actually increased by 18 million. Hunger and related diseases continue to claim more lives than AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria combined. WHO have reminded us that undernutrition is still the greatest threat to health worldwide. Convincing people in the developed world who struggle with their waistlines of these facts is no small task.
As Ireland hands over the presidency of the European Union, we ask that it make a point of reminding other member-states that, not far away, large communities, even entire nations, grapple with the gnawing pain of hunger and the bleak future that poverty and malnutrition presage. If only Irish generosity were more contagious.
James T. Morris is the executive director of the UN World Food Programme, which is holding a global meeting in Dublin from today until Thursday