Philippine Daily Inquirer/OPINION/by Ma. Ceres P. Doyo
WEBCAST LAST Tuesday afternoon from Rome was the presentation of the latest figures on world hunger by the Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) of the United Nations. You could watch the webcast and get the latest data by logging on to http://www.fao.org/webcast/. It’s like being there at the press conference yourself.
And while you are at your computer, you might as well sign the “Petition to End Hunger” (www.1billion.org) which shows famous actor Jeremy Irons blowing a whistle, fuming and telling you to be “mad as hell.” It’s a great way to connect.
The release of the FAO figures came in advance of the UN Millennium Development Goal (MDG) Summit in New York next week, which President Aquino will be attending, and the publication of FAO’s annual flagship report, “The State of World Food Insecurity,” (SOFI) which is due in October.
Here’s the lowdown from FAO.
The bad news is that the latest estimate of the number of people who will suffer chronic hunger this year is a staggering 925 million.
The good news is that it is 98 million down from 1.023 billion in 2009. This is a 9.6 percent decline, mostly in Asia. But FAO and WFP are not happy with this and said that the number of hungry people in the world still “remains unacceptably high” despite the gains that pushed the figure below 1 billion.
Lamented FAO director-general Jacques Diouf, “But with a child dying every six seconds because of undernourishment related problems, hunger remains the world’s largest tragedy and scandal. This is absolutely unacceptable.”
And so it goes without saying that the first MDG, which is “eradicate extreme poverty and hunger,” would be difficult to achieve. Diouf warned that the continuing high global hunger level “makes it extremely difficult to achieve not only the first MDG but also the rest of the MDGs.”
Hereabouts last week, Mr. Aquino told a multi-sectoral Stakeholders’ Step-Up Campaign Forum on the Philippines’ MDGs that he was not giving up on meeting the 2015 target date for the MDGs. He sounded optimistic despite the National Economic and Development Authority’s (Neda) grim report that said the country might miss many of the MDGs, including cutting poverty by half.
Here are the eight MDGs that nations all over the world have been working on since 2000.
Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger
Achieve universal primary education
Promote gender equality and empower women
Reduce child mortality
Improve maternal health
Combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases
Ensure environmental sustainability
Develop a global partnership for development.
It is worth noting that many countries, including some of the poorest, are moving forward toward the goals. This is proof, one UN report said, that setting bold, collective goals yields results. But it also pointed out that improvements in the lives of the poor have been slow and some hard-won gains were eroded by climate change, food and economic crises.
The 2010 lower global hunger number, the FAO report said, resulted largely from renewed economic growth expected this year, particularly in developing countries, and the drop in food prices since mid-2008. The recent increase in food prices is now threatening the further reduction of hunger.
But one must see beyond figures. There is a problem, and it is a structural one, FAO said. How explain the fact that historically, the number of undernourished continued to increase even in periods of high growth and relatively low prices? FAO concluded that economic growth, while essential, will not be sufficient to eliminate hunger within an acceptable period of time.
The success stories—and they do exist in Africa, Asia and Latin America—must be replicated and multiplied.
Other key findings in the FAO report: Two-thirds of the world’s undernourished live in just seven countries—Bangladesh, China, Congo, Ethiopia, India, Indonesia and Pakistan. Here in Asia, Myanmar and Vietnam are reported to have achieved MDG1 and China is close to doing so.
What about the Philippines? A Neda press statement said that “the country is lagging behind.”
The three major areas that the country must focus on, Neda said, is poverty reduction, education and maternal health. Efforts should also be focused on improving the performance of boys in basic education, as well as reducing the cases of HIV/AIDS.
The report was optimistic in meeting the targets on reducing child mortality, promoting women empowerment, reversing the incidence of malaria and TB and providing access to sanitary toilets.
And so, what more to do in the next five years?
Among the recommendations is the need to sustain the high economic growth experienced this year, and for this to be shared by the poor. Neda said: “The economy needs to attract local and foreign investments to spur economic growth. To do this, physical infrastructure has to be improved, water and power have to be made available at competitive rates, and more transparent systems in doing businesses need to be established.”
Localizing MDGs is key. Neda has come out with 10 province-specific reports on Agusan del Norte, Agusan del Sur, Batangas, Biliran, Camarines Norte, Eastern Samar, Marinduque, Romblon, Sarangani and Siquijor.
The Philippines’ fourth progress report will be presented at the High Level Plenary Meeting on the MDGs in New York on Sept. 20 to 22, which President Aquino will attend.
We have five years to go…
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I will be at the International Book Fair at SMX at 3 p.m. today for book signing of “Bituin and the Big Flood/Si Bituin at ang Malaking Baha” (Anvil 2010), an illustrated story book I dedicate to the children who lost their lives during the typhoons “Ondoy” and “Pepeng” and to the children who survived.
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