Call to ringfence aid for global hunger

OVERSEAS AID to combat hunger should be ringfenced and maintained at current levels, Ireland’s hunger envoy said yesterday.

Speaking at the launch of his report to Government, Kevin Farrell also said Ireland should build on its relationship with the US in the fight against hunger.

Mr Farrell was appointed special envoy last year following the report of the Hunger Task Force, a body set up by Government to examine global hunger, which included economist Jeffrey Sachs, Bono and 13 other international agriculture and food security experts.

He worked to help implement the taskforce’s recommendations and advise the Government on Ireland’s policies and activities to reduce hunger.

In yesterday’s report, Mr Farrell said Ireland had played a very strong role internationally in advocating that the eradication of hunger be made a priority.

It had responded strongly to the taskforce recommendations, which included increasing the productivity of smallholder farmers and the implementation of programmes focused on mother and baby nutrition. But, he said, as many as 10,000 children still died every day as a consequence of under-nutrition and 925 million people were under-nourished. Climate change and population growth also posed increasing risks to the developing world.

Mr Farrell did find investment in agriculture in the developing world was on the increase after a two-decade decline, and countries and donors were targeting more of their effort and funding to tackle under-nutrition.

He acknowledged the leadership Minister of State for Overseas Development Peter Power had shown internationally in pushing the hunger agenda and recommended that efforts should further strengthen the focus on smallholders and women farmers.

He called for Irish spending on hunger to be ringfenced or maintained at current levels.

“I believe that such a decision would send a further very strong message of our intention to maintain our position as a leader in the fight against hunger,” Mr Farrell said.

Mr Power said funding for hunger had “virtually been ring-fenced”.

A hunger unit had been set up within the Irish Aid section of the Department of Foreign Affairs, with a dedicated budget. There had also been a commitment to move toward spending 20 per cent of the overseas development aid budget on hunger, food security and nutrition.

The budget had been reduced, but efforts in the hunger area had been scaled up, the Minister said.