Tom Arnold's Blog
Tom is Concern Worldwide’s Chief Executive. He was appointed to the position in 2001. Read Tom’s profile.
High stakes: G8 and world hunger
Posted by Tom Arnold | in Tom Arnold's Blog | 17 May 2012 | 0 comments
Concern Worldwide is pushing the G8 to renew its commitments to global hunger and nutrition. Ahead of this week’s summit, I will be speaking at a number of events to ensure this message is heard.
The fight against hunger is at a critical crossroads. We have never had as much knowledge, political will and grassroots engagement as we do today. We need to harness this to make malnutrition history.
Despite this, almost one billion people do not have enough food.
East Africa crisis
Last year, I travelled to east Africa during the height of the drought that pushed 12 million people to the brink of crisis. I had witnessed suffering and death caused by hunger before, but I was nonetheless shocked. We are at a point in human history when “famine” should no longer be in our vocabulary.
Tax back on your donation
Posted by Tom Arnold | in Tom Arnold's Blog | 12 April 2012 | 0 comments
Have you donated more than €250 to Concern in the past four years? If so, Concern can claim back tax from the Revenue Commissioners on your charity donation. Watch the video below to see how simple it is.
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Joining Mary Robinson on UN group
I’m very pleased to announce that the secretary general of the United Nations has appointed me to a high-level international working group aimed at tackling child hunger in the world’s poorest countries.
I will join former president Mary Robinson on the group, which also includes the prime ministers of Bangladesh, Nepal and Namibia, and the presidents of Mozambique and Tanzania. It will be chaired by Tony Lake, Executive Director of UNICEF.
1,000 days
This working group will provide leadership to the Scaling Up Nutrition (SUN) movement. Initiated in 2010, SUN was created to enable sustained and demonstrable reductions in the number of people, especially children, affected by poor nutrition.
Video: an update on Haiti
Posted by Tom Arnold | in Tom Arnold's Blog | 9 January 2012 | 0 comments
It's now two years since the devastating earthquake hit Haiti in January 2010. What has been done so far? What remains to be done to rebuild Haiti?
A partnership to fight hunger
Posted by Tom Arnold | in Tom Arnold's Blog | 30 November 2011 | 0 comments
Some time ago, Concern Worldwide began a partnership with Kerry Group and the International Food Policy Research Institute to find innovative solutions to world hunger. Now, the organisations have launched a new initiative, aimed at improving mortality rates in children under two years of age.
Zambia was chosen as the location of this project because approximately 45% of its pre-school children are stunted as a result of chronic malnutrition. Stunting is much more than reduced growth rate. It can cause irreversible brain damage, and can increase the risk of contracting diseases in later life.
Helping families
The project will focus on reducing the prevalence of malnutrition among pregnant mothers and young children in Mumbwa District, western Zambia. We aim to help 3,480 families with this work.
Hopes for the future
It is intended that the project model can then be used in other areas of Zambia, and in other countries where Concern is working.
It is to the great credit of Kerry Group that they are fully behind this five-year project. We hope this will eventually influence international policy in relation to malnutrition.
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A call from Bono
Posted by Tom Arnold | in Tom Arnold's Blog | 15 November 2011 | 0 comments
To be honest, it’s an unusual enough occurrence for Bono to have phoned me. In October, he rang to say that they were releasing a covers version of Achtung Baby, on the 20th anniversary of the original release.
He told me they wanted the funds generated by the sales to do some good in east Africa, and they wanted Concern to use those funds. I was absolutely thrilled.
Humanitarian work
After all, U2 is one of the most influential bands of the last 30 years and their song “One” counts as one of the all-time classic anthems.
On top of all of that, the band has impeccable humanitarian credentials. This dates back to Bono’s “A String of Pearls” book based on his and his wife’s experience in Ethiopia in 1985. It includes the group’s life-long support for organisations like Amnesty International and a plethora of international and domestic causes.
So, yes, it would be fair to say that Concern would be interested in partnering on this initiative!
Shared belief
The other participants in this particular project also deserve our grateful thanks. They represent a hugely diverse range of musical interest and tastes – what other album could attract Nine Inch Nails and Patti Smith? But they have at least one thing in common: a shared belief that the world needs to be a better place for its entire people.
Lifesaving aid
Concern will do very important things with the funds raised. We will deliver lifesaving aid to thousands of people throughout east Africa, where we’ve been working for much of the last 40 years. That’s guaranteed.
New friends
Being the charity partners of such an innovative album release also exposes Concern, our work and our humanitarian principles to a huge number of new supporters. Hello to fans of Nine Inch Nails, Damien Rice, Patti Smith, Garbage, Depeche Mode, Snow Patrol, The Fray, Gavin Friday, The Killers, Glasvegas and Jack White. And, of course, U2.
To new friends in North America, visit our US site to read about the issues being addressed by Concern Worldwide US.
We’re honoured to be part of this project and we offer our grateful thanks to all involved.
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Global Hunger Index 2011
Posted by Tom Arnold | in Tom Arnold's Blog | 10 October 2011 | 0 comments
The 2011 Global Hunger Index report was published today. The report focuses on the impact of rising food prices on the lives of the world’s poorest people.
To launch the report, there will be events taking place in Washington, Berlin, Brussels, London, Des Moins, Paris, Nairobi, Milan and Dushanbe.
Download the report
- Read the full report
- Read the Global Hunger Index briefing paper
- Download world map showing hunger levels around the world
The heaviest burden
Klaus von Grebmer, lead author of the report and IFPRI communications director, said:
The poorest and most vulnerable people bear the heaviest burden when food prices spike or swing unpredictably. This report calls for action on several fronts to build resilience and mitigate the effects of volatility, particularly in countries where hunger is most severe.
Hunger levels
The Global Hunger Index identifies the areas around the world where the hunger levels are most severe. According to this year’s report, 26 countries have levels of hunger that are “alarming or extremely alarming.” All those with extremely alarming levels – Burundi, Chad, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and Eritrea – are in Sub-Saharan Africa. Take a look at the interactive map below.
East Africa crisis
The current crisis in east Africa highlights the vulnerability of millions of poor people around the world to weather and other shocks. It also highlights the need to address the root causes of hunger.
Action needed
To tame food price volatility and protect the poor against future shocks, action is urgently needed. Klaus von Grebmer said:
We already know a great deal about how to reduce vulnerability and effectively tackle poverty and hunger. Now is the time to apply this knowledge so that everyone, everywhere, has access to sufficient, safe, and nutritious food at all times so that they can live healthy and productive lives.
Crisis in east Africa
The drought crisis in east Africa is worsening, but we are doing all we can to help the people there. We are now reaching over half a million people affected by the drought in Kenya, Ethiopia, and famine-hit Somalia.
We plan to increase the number of people we are helping over the coming months. We’d also urge people to keep supporting us, as this crisis is not going away any time soon.
Watch a video about the crisis and what we are doing to improve the situation:
Welcoming a new country
South Sudan celebrates its independence tomorrow. Concern Worldwide welcomes the world’s newest independent country and Africa’s newest state.
Best wishes
We send both the Republic of Sudan and newly independent South Sudan our best wishes for the future. As the countries continue to negotiate on various issues, Concern remains committed to working with the poorest people in both countries in collaboration with the respective governments.
Committed to the poorest
We first started working in Sudan in 1985 and currently have programmes in Darfur and South Kordofan. We are directly helping over 470,000 people through water, sanitation, nutrition, health and livelihoods projects.
In South Sudan, Concern runs livelihoods and health and nutrition projects in North Bahr El Ghazal, helping 397,000 people.
Open letter to Hillary Clinton
Posted by Tom Arnold | in Tom Arnold's Blog | 1 July 2011 | 0 comments
I recently met with US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton at a meeting in Washington DC. We were both there to speak about nutrition for mothers and children in the world’s poorest countries. The meeting highlighted important developments in nutrition, including the Scaling Up Nutrition framework.
Nutrition framework
This framework highlights the importance of good nutrition during the 1,000 days between pregnancy and a child reaching two years of age. Its objective is to improve maternal and child health and reduce malnutrition. This in itself would be a giant step towards overcoming poverty. But in order to make this a reality, we need G20 countries to commit to this cause.
Why should they commit?
The number of dead, and permanently-damaged, children resulting from basic undernutrition in the world’s poorest countries is unacceptable, and avoidable. The 1,000 Days partnership between the US and Ireland underscores our agreed sense of urgency and priority-setting in this area.
Open letter
Following the recent meeting in Washington DC, I wrote an open letter to Hillary Clinton. In it, I expressed my admiration for the work she has done with child nutrition and appealed for her continued commitment to this issue. Read the full letter.
