The global financial crisis risks distracting world leaders from the fight against hunger, even as it proves they can mobilise massive funds to tackle emergencies, a prominent economist said today.
Jeffrey Sachs, who is special advisor to the UN secretary-general and director of the Earth Institute at New York's Columbia University, told reporters the financial turmoil had come when fresh political interest in solving world hunger was already declining.
"When food prices peaked and began to come down, despite the fact that conditions within poor countries remained hugely adverse, attention already started to wane," he said in a telephone interview.
"And now with this crisis, it could take even what remains of the effort further off the radar screen."
At a UN food summit in June, 181 countries agreed to take urgent action to address the impact of soaring food prices on the world's most vulnerable people. That came after the cost of major food commodities had doubled in a couple of years, with foodstuffs such as rice, corn and wheat reaching record highs.
Mr Sachs, the well-known author of
The End of Poverty, said many aid promises had been made, but not much delivered, although it was clear the world could find money to respond to crises such as the one sweeping financial markets.
"The amounts that are needed (to help the poor grow more food) are in the low billions of dollars and we're talking every day now about a new commitment of hundreds of billions for this and hundreds of billions for that," Mr Sachs said. "The truth about poverty is that the poor don't need very much."
Since the middle of the year, global food prices have begun to fall, with the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) food price index reaching a seven-month low in August. Futures prices for wheat and corn are down around 50 per cent from their peak.
Mr Sachs said these declines may have provided some relief for poor people living in cities, who had been hardest hit by high prices. But small farmers were still struggling to buy expensive fertilisers to grow crops and feed their families.
"If your budget is 50 per cent or more food, and food prices go up and you're very poor ... the squeeze is dramatic and that remains true until today," he said. "This is a very adverse environment for poor people."
In September, the FAO said rising food prices were partly to blame for adding 75 million more people to the ranks of the hungry in 2007, lifting the global figure to 925 million.
Mr Sachs said most people in the poorest countries would not be directly hit by the global credit crunch because they had no access to financial systems or collateral to take out loans. But they would likely feel the impact through a lack of aid.
"They were suffering and dying during the boom and they'll do the same during the downturn," he said.
Reuters