Concern Worldwide is calling for urgent action by world leaders to prevent a looming humanitarian emergency caused by spiralling food prices around the world.
International hunger conference
As part of this, in October, Concern will host an international hunger conference in Kilmainham, Dublin, which will feature several high profile speakers, including former UN secretary general Kofi Annan. The event will examine the ongoing issue of hunger in the developing world and explore new solutions to it.
The conference’s key objectives are to highlight the scandal of hunger in the world today and to advocate for comprehensive and innovative approaches to combat it. This has become even more pertinent given the current food crisis.
For full details please click here.
Horn of Africa
The humanitarian crisis in the Horn of Africa continues to escalate due to crop failure and rising food prices. Paul O'Brien, Concern's Overseas Director, recently returned from Ethiopia, Somalia and Kenya. Listen to his account.
Raising awareness
Concern is also working hard to raise awareness of the issues surrounding hunger. This short film features people in Kenya who have seen the price of staples such as maize, beans and oil soar in the last two years. Many families are now getting by on only one meal a day.
Rising food prices - Concern's position
Reports from Concern’s staff on the ground in many of the countries it operates in indicate that high food prices are having very negative effects, including:
- Increases in malnutrition
- Reduced expenditure on healthcare and education
- Extremely poor people getting into greater debt
- Sale of important assets such as land, tools and livestock on which people depend to make a living
- Immediate consumption of the seeds poor families were saving to plant this year
- Growing social unrest in fragile countries
Causes of the crisis
The increases have been caused by many factors, including:
- Increased demand for food due to population growth and increased prosperity
- The high price of oil increasing the cost of agricultural inputs and transportation
- The growing demand for bio-fuels
- The lowest levels of food stocks in decades
Read the full report here.
- Ethiopia crisis - photo gallery
- Overseas director discusses Horn of Africa food crisis
(08 Aug 2008)
- Ethiopia: "our worst year yet"
(05 Aug 2008)
- Resorting to desperate measures
(01 Aug 2008)
- World leaders warned that the right to food is not negotiable
Former Irish President Mary Robinson is warning world leaders that they have an obligation to tackle the global food crisis now or they will be reneging on commitments to respect the right to food for all. (10 Jul 2008)
- Food crisis - the "right" solution?
Mary Robinson is to address a seminar marking the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights on how and why the world needs to tackle a growing global phenomenon. (09 Jul 2008)
- Stop the food crisis
The world is facing a global food crisis. Act now to help those most at risk. (04 Jun 2008)
- Immediate action needed on food prices
Concern warns that rocketing food prices will cause a global humanitarian crisis unless action is taken now. (29 May 2008)
- Rising food prices - feeling the pinch
Several countries are experiencing riots and protests over the global phenomenon of rising food prices. The urban poor in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa, are among those suffering badly. (23 May 2008)
- Farmers join hands to solve the problems of hunger in Dowa
The members of Dzoole Bean Association in Dowa district have good reason to be smiling proudly as they display their bags of bean seed. After only one year these farmers have managed to work together to produce enough bean seed to fill over 46 bags, weighing 50 Kilograms each, 42 of which have just been sold to Bunda college. (22 May 2008)
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