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Food comes first
FAO and the eight
Millennium Development Goals
www.fao.org www.fao.org FOREWORD
BY THE DIRECTOR-GENERAL
Food comes first
In 2009, the number of hungry people on our planet was about one billion. No matter how we try to put it in words that anyone can understand – one out of every six human beings is hungry, a child dies of hunger every six seconds – it remains almost impossible to conjure up a mental image of what hunger looks like at that scale.
In May 2010, FAO initiated its “1billionhungry” campaign, which features an online anti-hunger petition. Its goal: to bring this untenable situation to the attention of the world through social networking outlets and inspire a grassroots outcry that will reach the ears and hearts of world leaders who are in the position to do something about it.
In spite of the solemn commitment of world leaders who made the reduction of hunger and poverty their very first Millennium Development Goal, the political will and financial resources offered have not measured up to the goal. Now, two-thirds of the way to the day of reckoning for the MDGs, we must face the very tragic reality that we are lagging behind to meet the goal for the very same reason just mentioned – the lack of political will and financial means.
With our world facing the double dilemma of rapidly increasing demand for agricultural commodities and changing climates that affect our ability to produce food, it raises our awareness of the importance of linkages. We see the eight Millennium Development Goals, each with its own sphere, but we also know that all of those spheres touch each other and progress toward achieving one will have a cascading effect in helping the others. Under its mandate, FAO has developed strong experience and expertise not only to fight poverty and hunger and to ensure environmental sustainability, but as this report shows, the output of the Organization links across the whole MDG universe.
FAO and the eight
Millennium Development Goals
www.fao.org www.fao.org FOREWORD
BY THE DIRECTOR-GENERAL
Food comes first
In 2009, the number of hungry people on our planet was about one billion. No matter how we try to put it in words that anyone can understand – one out of every six human beings is hungry, a child dies of hunger every six seconds – it remains almost impossible to conjure up a mental image of what hunger looks like at that scale.
In May 2010, FAO initiated its “1billionhungry” campaign, which features an online anti-hunger petition. Its goal: to bring this untenable situation to the attention of the world through social networking outlets and inspire a grassroots outcry that will reach the ears and hearts of world leaders who are in the position to do something about it.
In spite of the solemn commitment of world leaders who made the reduction of hunger and poverty their very first Millennium Development Goal, the political will and financial resources offered have not measured up to the goal. Now, two-thirds of the way to the day of reckoning for the MDGs, we must face the very tragic reality that we are lagging behind to meet the goal for the very same reason just mentioned – the lack of political will and financial means.
With our world facing the double dilemma of rapidly increasing demand for agricultural commodities and changing climates that affect our ability to produce food, it raises our awareness of the importance of linkages. We see the eight Millennium Development Goals, each with its own sphere, but we also know that all of those spheres touch each other and progress toward achieving one will have a cascading effect in helping the others. Under its mandate, FAO has developed strong experience and expertise not only to fight poverty and hunger and to ensure environmental sustainability, but as this report shows, the output of the Organization links across the whole MDG universe.