Mercy Global Concern - 2002
World Summit on Hunger
The World Summit on Hunger, which was held in Rome from June
10-13, agreed on the need for a dramatic commitment to combat
world hunger.
24,000 people die EACH DAY from malnutrition, and a further
800 million are malnourished, according to the United Nations
statistics.
The first UN sponsored summit, which was also held in Rome
in 1996, produced solemn pledges to cut the numbers of those
suffering from hunger in half by 2015. The analysts concede
that at present we are nowhere near that target. The number
of hungry people is falling at the rate of 6 million per year,
which is far short of the 22 million needed to reach the 1996
goal.
After the summit, which was billed as a potential flop, questions
are now being asked on why an opportunity, which was billed
as a potential turning point in global policy on hunger relief,
ended in this way? Why, given the fact the first four papers
presented at the plenary session were right on target? The reason
is that Words are one thing; putting them into action is what's
missing.
Why?
- The United Nations has called on developed nations to set
aside 0.7 percent of gross domestic product for aid to developing
nations for hunger relief. Only four have actually met the target:
Norway, Sweden, Holland and Denmark. The US ranks last on the
list, devoting 0.1 percent to such aid.
- Eradicating the hunger that exists today and feeding those
to be added tomorrow is a worthy challenge, one made all the
more difficult because two of the world's three food systems----
rangelands and oceanic fisheries- are already being pushed to
or beyond their sustainable yields. In its most basic form,
hunger is a productivity problem. Typically, people are hungry
because they do not produce enough food to meet their needs
or because they do not earn enough money to buy it. The only
lasting solution is to raise their productivity - a task complicated
by the ongoing shrinkage in both the cropland area and irrigation
water per person in developing countries.
- Soil erosion, aquifer depletion, and climate change threaten
future food production. Food security may depend as much on
the efforts made by individuals as on decisions made in ministries
of agriculture. Steps are needed NOW by world leaders to build
an agricultural eco-economy. Bland assertions that we must eradicate
hunger are meaningless.
- The two regions of the world where death rates are already
rising or are likely to do so are sub-Saharan Africa and the
Indian subcontinent, which together contain 1.9-billion people-nearly
one third of humanity. Without clearly defined strategies in
countries with rapid population growth to lower birth rates
and a parallel structure and commitment by the international
community to support them, one third of humanity could slide
into a demographic black hole. There are now three clearly identifiable
threats that are already pushing death rates up or have the
potential to do so: The HIV/AIDS pandemic, aquifer depletion,
and land hunger. Of these three HIV/AIDS needs to be seen for
what it is > an international emergency of epic proportions.
Barring a miracle, many African countries will lose a fifth
or more of their adult population to AIDS by the end of this
decade.
- In a Worldwatch Paper entitled Underfed and Overfed, Gary
Gardiner and Brian Halweil report that the number of those who
are over nourished and overweight has climbed to 1.1 billion
worldwide, rivaling the number who are undernourished and underweight.
During the recent summit held in Rome, some of the participants
from the developing world could not help pointing out that while
800 million people, almost entirely in the 'majority' world
go hungry, an estimated 300 million, mostly in the developed
West, are obese.
- The Forum for Food Sovereignty, which regards food as a right
rather than a commodity, argued that food security could best
be guaranteed by allowing nations to determine their own production
and distribution policies. This challenges the capitalist assumption
that the free market is always the best way to organize the
food trade. The best way to feed the hungry is to ensure that
local agricultural producers remain viable.
Change is not easy: What can we do?
Building public support for the change that is needed to ward
off the pending disaster is not easy. A sustainable economy
will not happen by itself but only as a result of concerted,
intelligent efforts by informed citizenry supporting strong
leadership. It is up to national governments to develop long-term
plans of where we want to go and how we plan to get there. As
a member of the public, you and I have a responsibility to write
to our respective governments and make our position known. The
Sisters of Mercy are in 40 different countries, and if each
puts of us pen to paper, I believe we can make a difference.
The HIV/AIDS crisis is an example of leadership's failure to
respond. This pandemic is claiming 6,030 lives day, which is
the equivalent of 15 fully, loaded jumbo jets crashing daily.
To save one person is to save the whole world. I ask each of
you who reads this article to write to your government and enquire
if they are paying what they promised. Leaders only respond
when pushed from the bottom. Individually and collectively we
can transform this behemoth called injustice, then we will recognize
the right of every woman to be fully human, the right of every
child to a safe environment, the right of every poor human being
to a dignified life.
Deirdre Mullan RSM
Associate Director
Mercy Global Concern
United Nations
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