Madam, – Later this month, world leaders will gather in New York for the 10th anniversary of the UN Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). With the number of hungry people in the world at a record high of over one billion, the promises to halve the proportion of hungry people and child malnutrition by 2015 remain significantly off track.
The number of hungry people in the world has been growing, made substantially worse by the food price and financial crises. It is unacceptable that one in six people is going to bed hungry, with malnutrition contributing to at least three and a half million maternal and child deaths each year.
Tackling hunger is vital to the achievement of all the MDGs; yet hunger reduction has failed to make it as a top priority at the summit. We are therefore left asking: what is it going to require for leaders to take decisive collective action with only five years left? As the summit gets under way, we urge heads of State, governments and UN agencies not to forget the plight of the hungry and malnourished. We further call on them to agree a road map to meet the MDG hunger target. Such a road map must comprehensively address child malnutrition and make linkages between hunger and health, recognise the crucial role and rights of women as food producers and carers, and prioritise improving the affordability of nutritious foods. – Yours, etc,