16 November 2009
A head of the next week's World Summit on Food Security, the FAO has called for a day-long worldwide hunger strike against chronic hunger.
FAO Director-General Jacques Diouf was quoted in a statement as making the suggestion while addressing a news conference in Rome.
Diouf said in the statement made available to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja last Thursday as saying: "We are suggesting that everyone in the world who wants to show solidarity with the one hungry billion people on this planet go on hunger strike next Saturday or Sunday.
"I shall personally begin a 24-hour fast on Saturday morning."
According to FAO statistics, 1.02 billion people live in chronic hunger.
The World Summit on Food Security scheduled for Rome from Nov. 16 to Nov. 18, 2009, is aimed at reaching an agreement on immediate action to reverse the situation and build momentum to end the scourge of hunger and malnutrition, the statement said.
Diouf declared: "Despite all the promises made, concrete action on hunger has been lacking. In the absence of strong measures another global food crisis cannot be excluded."
He expressed the hope that attendance at the summit would record the kind of attendance witnessed during the 2002 summit, noting that Heads of State and Government from FAO's 192 members had been invited.
According to the statement, the director-general also launched an online anti-hunger petition on http://www.1billionhungry.org/ .
"I would urge as many people as possible to sign our petition. Each click will serve as another reason, in addition to the billion we already have, for ending hunger. Each click will also serve as a goad to world leaders to 'walk the talk'," Diouf stressed.
The statement said visitors to the website were requested to sign the petition if they agree that one billion people living in chronic hunger is unacceptable.
"Everyone is encouraged to use Twitter or other social media tools to spread the word about the initiative," it added.
Read comments. Write your own.
Copyright © 2009 Daily Champion. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com). To contact the copyright holder directly for corrections — or for permission to republish or make other authorized use of this material, click here.
AllAfrica aggregates and indexes content from over 125 African news organizations, plus more than 200 other sources, who are responsible for their own reporting and views. Articles and commentaries that identify allAfrica.com as the publisher are produced or commissioned by AllAfrica.
IT IS A MATTER TO BE WORRIED , THAT WE HAVE MORE THAN 1020 MILLION HUNGRY PEOPLE ON THIS PLANET.ALL OUR ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT OR PROSPERITY LOOKS MEANINGESS IN SUCH A CRITICAL SITUATION. WE NEED ANOTHER GREEN REVOLUTION TO FEED ALL THE POOR PEOPLE.SO MANY PEOPLE ARE DYING WITH OVER-EATING IN THIS WORLD , WHEN WE HAVE 1.02BILLION HUNGRY PEOPLE.THE PROBLEM OF HUNGER NEEDS IMMIDEATE ACTION , AND FOOD SHOULD REACH TO THE NEEDY.WE THE FARMERS OF INDIA ASSURE THESE PEOPLE THAT WE SHALL CONTINUE OUR EFFORTS TO PRODUCE MORE FOOD TO FEED THE HUNGERY.WE SHALL NEVER SHOW OUR BACKS TO OUR MORAL DUTY OF FEEDING THESE HUNGRY PEOPLE.WE MUST PARTICIPATE IN THE WORLDWIDE HUNGER STRIKE AS IT HAS BEEN CALLED BY FAO.