Progress in cutting hunger has 'ground to a halt'

With more than 36 million people dying every year from hunger, progress in eliminating malnutrition has "virtually ground to a halt", according to the UN.

UN Special Rapporteur Jean Ziegler told the Commission on Human Rights that a food crisis was affecting millions of people, with famine, poverty and hunger combining to leave 840 million people suffering from chronic malnutrition.

Sudan, Ethiopia and Afghanistan were cited as among the hardest hit countries and said at least 38 States, mostly African, were seriously affected by the food crisis, Mr Ziegler said.

"It was time to recognize that hunger was not a question of fate but the result of human inaction or action," he added.

Mr Ziegler also described the situation in the Palestinian territory as "badly deteriorating" – with more than half of Palestinians dependent on food aid and humanitarian access to the population often restricted, he said.

The Commission also heard that developing countries see promises of free trade and international trade talks as "illusory".

The special rapporteur outlined an alternative method for food distribution – dubbed 'food sovereignty' which would regard trade as a means to an end rather than an end in itself.

Under the plan, subsidies would be considered acceptable to sustain small-scale agriculture production but not to support large-scale farming that is used for exports.

(gmcg)