Heads of state from across Africa have called on other world leaders to safeguard the sustainable development goal targets on eradicating poverty and hunger by increasing their funding to the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD).
This call was made by 10 African heads of state in a letter to their counterparts in Europe, North America, the Middle East, Asia and Oceania in which they affirmed their support for the IFAD’s vision of vibrant rural communities where people live free from poverty and hunger.
Those calling for a significant increase in contributions to the IFAD include leaders from Angola, Benin, Burkina Faso, Côte d’Ivoire, Ethiopia, Gambia, Kenya, Senegal, Sierra Leone and Togo.
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The State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World, an annual report released by the United Nations, predicted that 132 million people would become chronically hungry as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic in addition to 690 million people that went hungry last year.
The report estimated that Asia currently has the highest number of undernourished with 381 million people, while the number in Africa is growing fast with 250 million undernourished, followed by Latin America and the Caribbean with 48 million.
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The State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World is produced jointly by the IFAD, the Food and Agriculture Organization, the United Nations Children’s Fund, the World Food Program and the World Health Organization and is the most authoritative global study tracking progress towards ending hunger and malnutrition.
Marie Haga, associate vice president for external relations and governance at the IFAD, said that the show of support from African leaders is a testament to the real impact the IFAD is having on the lives and livelihoods of rural people on the continent.
