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| Sunday, 16 October 2005 |
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Junior Observer |  |
| News Business Features Editorial
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World Food Day - today : Fight against hunger
Not only children, but also adults are affected without nutritious food as they won't be able to maintain and expand their potential. But did you know that there are billions of children and adults who don't get enough of this basic need? Around the world, 850 million people remain hungry and chronically undernourished while 200 million children below the age of five suffer from symptoms of acute (severe) malnourishment. This increases further during periods of famine and social unrest. Malnutrition is a primary factor in over 13 million children under five years dying annually from preventable diseases. Ninety five per cent of the undernourished people (798 million) live in developing countries with the Asia Pacific region accounting for three fifths (505 million) of them. Heightening awareness about the world food problem and strengthening cooperation in the struggle against hunger, malnutrition and poverty are the aims of the World Food Day (WFD) celebrated every year on October 16. The Day was declared by the Conference of the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) of the United Nations in 1979 to mark the date of the founding of the FAO in 1945. The UN General Assembly endorsed the observance of the Day, in 1980, in consideration of the fact that "food is a requirement for human survival and well-being and a fundamental human necessity". It is now observed by over 150 countries. The theme of this year's WFD is 'Agriculture and Intercultural Dialogue' and recalls the contribution of different cultures to the agriculture sector. It also stresses that intercultural dialogue is essential for progress against hunger and environmental degradation(erosian). According to FAO statistics, 2.57 billion people (42 per cent of the population) depended on agriculture including hunting, fishing and forestry at the start of the new millennium. The economies of most developing countries are powered by agriculture while agricultural exports account for a large portion of the income of industrialised countries. The non-monetary contributions made by the sector include habitat and landscape development, soil conservation, water management, biodiversity and environmental conservation. All these spell out the importance of the WFD 2005 theme. Eradicating hunger was also taken up at the World Food Summits in 1996 and 2002, where world leaders pledged to reduce the world's hungry to half by 2015. The Millennium Development Goals also have the same target while ensuring environmental sustainability.As the deprivation of food leads to sickness and poor education and has many future effects on the overall well-being and quality of life of people, it is necessary that food be made available for everyone no matter where they are in the world. ############ October 17 : Int'l Day for the Eradication of Poverty
The Day was declared by the UN General Assembly in 1992, following on the fact that certain non-governmental organisations, on the initiative of one of them (the French-based International Movement ATD Fourth World), had been observing October 17 as the World Day for Overcoming Extreme Poverty. The Day seeks to promote increased awareness of the need to eradicate(get rid of ) poverty in all countries, especially in developing countries, and serves to remind all people that sustained and joint efforts are needed to achieve the Millennium Development Goal of halving the number living in poverty by 2015. This year's theme is 'Achieving the Millennium Development Goals - empowering the poorest of the poor'. The need to eradicate poverty was further emphasised by the UN with the declaration of 1997-2006 as the First UN Decade for the Eradication of Poverty. With the adoption of the Decade, the General Assembly stressed the importance of following up on the outcome of the International Conference on Financing for Development. It also urged developed countries to make concrete efforts to reach the targets of 0.7 per cent of their Gross National Product (GNP) as official development assistance to developing countries, and 0.15 to 0.2 per cent of their GNP to least developed countries. It also stressed the importance of access to safe drinking water and basic sanitation. The Assembly proclaimed the Decade in 1995 to follow up on the International Year for the Eradication of Poverty, 1996. The Decade's main objective is eradicating absolute poverty and reducing overall poverty substantially in the world. The theme for the Decade is 'Eradicating poverty is an ethical, social, political and economic imperative of humankind'. |
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All living beings, whether humans, animals or plants, need food to
survive. Children like you especially need food of the right quality and
quantity to reach your full potential, as food helps your bodies to grow,
minds to function properly and also protect you from diseases. 
While we commemorate World Food Day today, tomorrow marks another
important day, the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty. Both
concepts are related to each other. 
