After the EU presidency, Ireland is well placed to lead a campaign against world hunger, writes Tom Arnold
Ireland's presidency of the EU ended on June 30th to ringing plaudits. Due credit has been given to the leadership provided by the Taoiseach, Mr Ahern, and the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Mr Cowen. They, in turn, have acknowledged the role played by many outstanding public servants. This was truly an extraordinary team effort.
It may therefore seem churlish to ask the question "what next?". The obvious answer is "a good rest" and no one will quibble with that. But the presidency has brought Irish political leadership and diplomacy to a new high in terms of influence in European and world affairs.
It is legitimate to ask, can this political and diplomatic capital be used to make a more lasting difference to the world?
In answer to this question, I would like, a la Jonathan Swift, to make a "modest proposal".
I would propose that Ireland should take a leadership role in working towards the achievement of millennium development goals (MDG), specifically to halve the number of hungry people in the world by 2015.
This is the first of the MDGs to which world leaders committed themselves at the UN in September 2000. The MDGs represent clear time-bound targets, aimed at radically reducing world poverty and misery by 2015. Developed and developing countries agreed to their separate, and their shared, responsibilities, in working towards the goals.
In September 2005, world leaders will again gather to assess progress in working towards the MDGs. It is already clear that, under current trends, a number of the MDGs, including that relating to hunger, will not be achieved.
One way which could help to get the MDGs back on track is for individual countries with high political credibility to become advocates for specific goals.
My modest proposal is that, in the spirit of shared responsibility between developed and developing countries, Ireland should partner with Ethiopia to become the principal advocates for the achievement of the hunger MDG.
What more powerful statement could there be that the country which suffered the worst famine of the 19th century would join the country most associated with the horror of famine in the 20th century, to ensure that there will be no more famine in the 21st century? And furthermore, that the scourge of chronic hunger, which does not make the headlines but which causes enormous suffering and had huge human and economic costs, should be eliminated during the first half of the 21st century.
Ireland is uniquely placed to play this role. The Great Famine profoundly affected Ireland's economic and social history. The folk memory of the Famine helps to explain the remarkable generosity of the Irish people towards developing countries, expressed through support for Irish NGOs and missionaries.
The two best known advocates in favour of a fairer world are Irish.
Bob Geldof was the driving spirit which responded to the Ethiopian famine in 1984/85. Bono and his wife Ali spent time in Ethiopia in 1985. Their experience at that time helps to explain Bono's passionate commitment since then to working for justice and an elimination of poverty.
Geldof, who is a member of Tony Blair's Commission for Africa, and Bono could be key players in an Irish campaign to halve world hunger by 2015.
My proposal is timely from the perspective of the developing countries. A remarkable meeting took place in Addis Ababa, capital of Ethiopia, on July 5th.
The purpose of the meeting was to discuss innovative ways to achieve the hunger MDG in Africa. UN Secretary General Kofi Annan made a call to action to achieve an African revolution in policies aimed at eradicating hunger.
The Green Revolution of the 1960s, which vastly increased food production through improved seeds and more intensive farming, saved Asia from a major food crisis and was a key factor in its subsequent economic development. But the Green Revolution bypassed Africa, for a number of reasons.
The new revolution which Kofi Annan has called for would be different in character but would serve the same essential goal of achieving food security, this time for Africa.
The prime minister of Ethiopia, the presidents of Mozambique and Uganda, and a number of senior political figures from other African countries, endorsed Kofi Annan's call at the Addis meeting. The Ethiopian leader is playing a key leadership role among his African counterparts in supporting this call.
Ethiopia continues to be on a knife edge in relation to its own food security. In a "normal" year, 5-7 million people depend on food aid from outside to survive. When the rains fails, as they did two years ago, or some other disaster occurs, this figure can double to 10-14 million people.
The government of Ethiopia realises that radical policy change is necessary if the country is to escape from this terrible situation. Ethiopia will require major international assistance over a sustained period, if this is to be achieved.
The contrasts between Ethiopia and Ireland today could not be starker. Ethiopia has a population of some 70 million, growing at almost 3 per cent each year. Its per capita income is close to $100 per annum. It has a serious HIV/AIDS problem.
Ireland's population is just over 4 million, growing at 1.2 per cent each year. It has never been better off economically and the EU presidency has brought the country to a peak of its political influence.
The partnership of a country still struggling to avoid famine, allied to a country which has triumphantly overcome its famine legacy, could be symbolically powerful and politically influential in working to end famine and hunger.
Due to its unique history and its current political influence, I believe that Ireland should seize this moment, and aim to make a real difference over the next decade.