World Food Programme celebrates the 70th anniversary of The United Nations
ROME – The anniversary of the United Nations (UN) Charter provides an opportunity to recognize the vision of a world “free of fear or want,” a goal as relevant today as it was 70 years ago, Ertharin Cousin, Executive Director of the UN World Food Programme (WFP), said today.
“The opening words of the UN Charter, ‘We, the peoples of the United Nations,’ provide a stirring call for collective responsibility to achieve global peace, stability and prosperity for all,” said Cousin.
“No single individual, no single organization, no single government and no single enterprise can succeed alone. Yet by standing up, raising all our voices and by working together, we can achieve development, eliminate all forms of malnutrition and achieve Zero Hunger by 2030,” she added.
“Agenda 2030 demands prioritizing the people furthest behind first, requiring us all to give special attention to rural women, children impacted by war and conflict, displaced, indigenous people and isolated communities too often bearing the burden of hunger. We call on everyone to get involved and do their part, to create a world where everyone, everywhere has a future of Zero Hunger, of access to healthy, nutritious food every day, all year,” Cousin added.
The UN Charter includes a commitment to promote the well-being of the people of the world, “and what could be more important to our well-being than secure access to nutritious food all year round,” Cousin said.
Zero Hunger is the second of the 17 integrated Global Goals adopted last month by the UN and is at the very heart of the new agenda to tackle the root causes of poverty and want.
Some 795 million people suffer from hunger today – a staggering number, yet still down 167 million people from a decade ago, thanks to earlier efforts under the UN Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). Those efforts also saw the prevalence of undernourishment drop to 12.9 per cent from earlier levels of 23.3 per cent.
Each day, the UN and its agencies make a positive difference for millions of people: vaccinating children; distributing food aid; sheltering refugees; deploying peacekeepers; protecting the environment; seeking the peaceful resolution of disputes; supporting democratic elections, gender equality, human rights and the rule of law.
An important part of that work is carried out by the WFP, which has grown over its 53-year history to assist some 80 million people in 80 countries annually, providing both humanitarian and development assistance.
Stay with Sierra Express Media, for your trusted place in news!
© 2015, https:. All rights reserved.
