Eight years ago, a global commitment was made to halve the number of people in the world suffering from hunger by 2015. Since then, some countries have made great strides in bringing down the number of hungry, providing evidence that rapid progress is possible if the correct measures are taken. But on a world-wide basis, the statistics show that there has been almost no progress at all in spite of more conferences, more solemn pledges and the launching of grandiose plans. If every word which has been written on how to get rid of hunger had been a plate of food, hunger would be a thing of the past! We would no longer have to face the shame of seeing 5 million young children die each year of hunger-related causes.
It is all too easy to blame the lack of progress on the absence of political will on the part of the governments which committed themselves to reducing hunger. But, as global institutions with a mandate to cut hunger and poverty, we also need to look at ourselves in the mirror.We have to admit that one reason for lack of progress is that we have failed to get our act together. We have repeatedly agreed on the need for coordination but have rarely translated this into effective joint action in the epicentres of poverty and hunger.
This sobering recognition of our own collective weakness has led the Rome-based UN agencies concerned with food, agriculture and rural development, together with major NGOs, to found the International Alliance Against Hunger or IAAH. Through this we intend to pool our efforts so as to accelerate progress towards the achievement of the over-arching Millennium Development Goals of halving hunger and poverty by 2015. Any step towards attaining these two goals will also contribute to achieving the MDGs on education, health, gender and the environment. In IFAD, WFP, IPGRI and FAO, we are firmly convinced that we can work to much greater effect in partnership than in going our separate ways. We welcome other partners who share our goals and convictions to join us in the IAAH.
The first big task for the Alliance is to engage in concerted advocacy to raise awareness around the world about the scourge of hunger and the enormous moral and economic benefits which would accrue to all people from its eradication. But, ultimately we shall be measured by the extent to which can raise the resources allocated for hunger and poverty reduction and engage in practical actions on a scale relevant to the size of the problem. The Alliance obliges its new members to make an Ending Hunger Pledge to undertake specific time-bound actions and to hold themselves accountable for results.
Success in demonstrating the value of coordinated action on a global level will inspire a similar pooling of effort through national alliances in both developed and developing countries. The IAAH can provide a platform for sharing experiences between national alliances, for matching resources with needs and for tracking the extent to which Ending Hunger Pledges have been fulfilled.
