Drastic action needed to repair the UN"s failing Millennium Development Goals by ActionAid International 10:52pm 17th Sep, 2007   18.09.2007    With today"s opening of the 62nd Session of the United Nations General Assembly, experts and activists are calling on member states to take drastic action to repair the UN"s failing Millennium Development Goals.    The first goal was a pledge made by world leaders seven years ago to halve hunger by 2015. Then, there were 800 million people hungry. Today, there are 854 million people going hungry.    "World leaders shouldn"t just put the issue of hunger on the table," said Nigerian actress, Hilda Dokubo, "They should put it in their mouths, in their pocketbooks and in their actions."    "For every day that the General Assembly fails to take action, another 16,000 children die," said Thomas Johnny, Policy Research Manager, ActionAid Sierra Leone. "That a room full of the world"s most powerful people should fail in their goals so completely is inexplicable."    "The General Assembly itself set the Millennium Development Goals. Delegates signed them with their shiny pens, gave impassioned press conferences, then failed the world miserably," said Shahidur Raman, Head of the Livelihood Security and Risk Reduction Sector, ActionAid Bangladesh.    "Now is the time for the UN to show it really means business and has what it takes to end hunger. The beginning of the 62nd Session should mean an end to broken promises," added Mr. Raman.    With wars and armed conflicts dominating the political agenda of the United Nations" 62nd General Assembly, the UN must do more to address the hidden costs of war such as increased hunger and poverty. Of the 39 countries facing food crises in mid 2006, 25 were caused by conflict.    "In Northern Uganda, war has been waging for over 20 years. We can"t turn bullets into bread, and sadly, bullets are about all we have plenty of," says Paul Ojuman, District Initiative Coordinator at ActionAid Uganda.    "The conflict in Northern Uganda resulted in farmers having no access to their land. The ability to produce their own food was compromised and now they are totally dependent on food aid," he added.    "When there is war, farmers are less able to tend their fields and care for livestock. Produce can"t safely go to markets. Populations starve," said Thomas Johnny, Policy Research Manager, ActionAid Sierra Leone.    "Struggles with increased hunger, poverty and death often continue long after a conflict ends. War in Sierra Leone ended six years ago, yet one in five people still go hungry," said Johnny.    The number of undernourished people in five African countries crippled by conflict over the past 15 years - Democratic Republic of Congo, Burundi, Eritrea, Liberia and Sierra Leone - tripled from 12 million to 36 million.    "Millions of families are going hungry world wide due to war and conflicts," said Mr. Ojuman. "Such tragedies are man-made and must be prevented at all costs."    17 Sep 2007    With 35,000 people dying of hunger every day and governments failing to meet their millennium commitment to halve hunger by 2015, the ActionAid"s Hunger Free campaign is calling for food and hunger to play a central role "on the table" of the 62nd United Nations General Assembly Meetings.    "The UN is failing on its commitment to the world"s poor. 11 years ago, governments committed to halving hunger by 2015 at the World Food Summit. Today, 854 million are hungry. That"s 17% of the world"s population", said Thomas Johnny, from ActionAid Sierra Leone, "Hunger results from a lack of political will and bad policies. If the UN doesn"t take action, some 35,000 people a day, if not more, will continue to die," added Mr. Johnny.    "The right to food is a human right. This right must no longer be ignored." said Colm O Cuanachain, ActionAid"s International Campaign Director.    "We must challenge the UN member states to fulfil their millennium commitments and enact a strong resolution on food and hunger to ensure that the Millennium Development Goals are not just political rhetoric."    Campaigners from across the globe will protest outside the United Nations in New York daily from September 18th - 21st. Campaigners will also present case studies during meetings scheduled with UN Missions.    ActionAid is demanding that governments follow recent examples of countries such as Brazil, Guatemala, South Africa, Venezuela, and Bolivia, where positive legal, policy and administrative steps have been taken towards the implementation of the right to food at the national level.    Additionally, ActionAid"s Hunger Free campaign, which spans more than 30 countries, calls on governments to deliver on their Millennium Development Goal commitment to halve hunger by 2015, by ensuring that they respect, protect and fulfil the right to food; strengthen corporate regulations; expose companies when they exploit poor people; and protect poor women"s access to land.    (ActionAid is an international anti-poverty agency working in over 40 countries, taking sides with poor people to end poverty and injustice together). Visit the related web page
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