The leaders of the Group of Seven major advanced nations, meeting in Germany, said, “As part of a broad effort involving our partner countries, and international actors, and as a significant contribution to the post-2015 development agenda, we aim to lift 500 million people in developing countries out of hunger and malnutrition by 2030.” The G-7 listed the goal in its concluding statement and in an annex.
“Hunger and malnutrition are currently most prevalent in rural areas. We aim to follow an integrated multi-sectoral approach to support rural areas in developing their potential, with a particular focus on the rural poor, smallholder and family farmers,” says the annex in spelling out a four-part approach that includes mobilizing private capital and increasing its “development benefit.”
The nonprofit ActionAid said, “We welcome the G7’s commitment to fight hunger and malnutrition by investing in women farmers and sustainable agriculture, adding their support to commitments made by African leaders last year. But global leaders must make meaningful financial commitments, if they are to avoid this ambitious target being cast aside like many others before it.”
Two weeks ago, the UN’s food agencies said the number of chronically hungry people in the world had dropped to 795 million, or one of every nine people. A quarter-century ago, nearly one in four was hungry.
At the UN Food and Agriculture Organization meeting in Rome, FAO director-general José Graziano da Silva said his top goals for the next four years are to eradicate hunger, improve diets and address climate change. Graziano da Silva was elected to his second term as director-general over the weekend.