World can make progress on reducing hunger: FAO
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The Millennium Development Goal (MDG) of halving the number of hungry people worldwide by the 2015 deadline can be achieved if countries ramp up their efforts to reduce hunger.
That's what the head of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), José Graziano da Silva, told the Committee on World Food Security as it started its meeting in Rome on Monday.
The FAO chief said while the number of hungry people has dropped by more than 130 million since 1990, challenges still remain.
"We should be very concerned that hunger has risen in Africa and in the Near East. We have now more 73 million people malnourished in those two regions compared to 1990. That means 275 million people malnourished in Africa and Near East countries. We need to concentrate our efforts in these two regions." (Duration:33″)
The week-long meeting of the Committee on World Food Security will address issues such as the economic crisis and the rising demand for food.
It started just one day before World Food Day, celebrated annually on 16 October.
