IRELAND:Ireland is well placed to take a leading role in the global effort to eliminate hunger, according to economist Jeffrey Sachs.
Speaking in Dublin yesterday before the first meeting of the Government's "Hunger Taskforce", Prof Sachs, director of the Earth Institute at Columbia University and special adviser to United Nations secretary general Ban Ki-moon, said there was an urgent need for leadership if the UN's target of halving world hunger by 2015 was to be met.
"Ireland is a very dynamic country and Ireland has a voice that's large even if the population is not as large. And while there are some other major donors that are focusing on education or some that are focusing on health, no bilateral donor is focusing on hunger," he told The Irish Times.
"So this is not an area filled with heavyweight voices pushing each other around. This is actually an area crying out for some leadership right now."
The taskforce, which was called for in last year's White Paper on Irish Aid, brings together Irish and international expertise to identify how the State can best contribute to tackling the causes of food insecurity, particularly in Africa.
Dr Josette Sheeran, director of the World Food Programme (WFP) and member of the taskforce, said the group was meeting at a critical moment. With the rise in commodity prices, the WFP has seen the cost of buying food increase by over 50 per cent in the past five years, while grain markets are tighter than at any time in recent history.
"Moreover, the effects of climate change will affect the ability of humanitarian bodies to meet the needs of the hungry.
"We know the dry areas will get drier, by all predictions, and the wet areas will get wetter. And the question we have to ask is, with rising food prices and with the dynamics of climatic impact, are we doing enough to stay ahead of the cycle of hunger in the world?" Dr Sheeran said.
It is estimated that 820 million people are undernourished and 27 per cent of all children under five years in the developing world are malnourished.
Although there have been small reductions in the proportions of hungry people in the past 15 years, population growth means the absolute numbers have increased.
Tom Arnold, chief executive of Concern, suggested the group would look at the long-term causes of hunger, as well as more immediate concerns over agricultural production and distribution, for example.
"This is about more than either increasing food production or getting better ways of feeding people . . . It's about putting all those things together and saying, this is a broad strategy for getting rid of hunger and within that, Ireland is going to really home in on a few key areas where we could be really excellent."
The taskforce is chaired by former minister for agriculture Joe Walsh. Among its 16 members are Nancy Aburi of Self Help International; Bono; Prof Michael Gibney of UCD; Justin Kilcullen, director of Trócaire and Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Nigeria's former minister for finance.
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