FAO honors Brazil and 12 other countries for mitigating hunger
The Minister of Social Development and Fight against Hunger, Tereza Campello, accepted the award on behalf of Brazil Fábio Pozzebom / Agência Brasil
Brazil and another 12 countries were honored Sunday (Nov. 30) by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) for their successful efforts in overcoming hunger. Their achievements include reducing the proportion of undernourished people and the absolute number of hungry people. They were all awarded diplomas at the FAO headquarters in Rome.
The Minister of Social Development and Fight against Hunger, Tereza Campello, accepted the award on behalf of Brazil. Other countries that won the recognition include Cameroon, Ethiopia, Gabon, Gambia, Iran, Kiribati, Malaysia, Mauritania, Mauritius, Mexico, Philippines. and Uruguay.
FAO's Director-General José Graziano commended the successful initiatives, but noted that much more needs to be done to eradicate the problem globally. “You have confirmed that ending hunger and malnutrition in our time is a challenge, but you have also shown that it is feasible,” Graziano told the 13 country representatives.
He pointed out while progress has been made, 805 million people worldwide still suffer from chronic malnutrition. “What we must do to accelerate progress [is] to improve the quality and efficiency of food systems, promote rural development, increase productivity, raise rural incomes, improve access to food, and strengthen social protection,” he said.
Among the achievements commended by FAO are the early attainment of Goal 1 of the Millenium Development Goals (MDG) – halving the proportion of hungry people by 2015 – and the target set at the 1996 World Food Summit (WFS) of halving the absolute number of hungry people by 2015. Brazil, Cameroon, and Uruguay achieved the two goals ahead of the deadline this year.
According to FAO, a total 63 developing countries have attained Goal 1 of the MDGs, and another six are heading towards achieving them in 2015. Out of the 63 countries, 25 have also achieved the WFS goal.
Brazil was also commended by FAO for putting its efforts to overcome malnutrition at the center of the political agenda by introducing the Zero Hunger Program in 2003, in combination with other programs to support family farming and reducing inequality.
Translated by Mayra Borges
Fonte: FAO honors Brazil and 12 other countries for mitigating hunger
