Thursday, October 16, 2008

Hunger pangs for LatAm on World Food Day

World Food Day was observed today and according to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) millions of Latin Americans continue to suffer from malnutrition:
"The good news is that eight million fewer people suffered from malnutrition in Latin America between 1990 and 2005. The bad news is all the benefit of these 15 years has been lost," FAO regional delegate Jose Graziano da Silva said.

He presented a FAO report showing that from 2007 the trend reversed and now 51 million people in Latin America and 923 million around the world are affected by hunger.
Unfortunately, the FAO predicts that the growing global financial crisis could worsen world hunger as prices rise and governments are lax in contributing to anti-hunger campaigns.

Pope Benedict XVI also lent his opinion on world hunger today; he chastised wealthy nations for "corruption in public life or growing investments in weapons and sophisticated military technologies to the detriment of people's primary needs."

Image- AFP
Sources- Taiwan News, Voice of America, IHT, Reuters Africa

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