United Nations Radio

A taskforce set up by the Irish government to identify how Ireland can best contribute to efforts to alleviate global hunger launched its report on the fringes of the UN General Assembly's discussions on the UN Millennium Development Goals.

The chair of the Hunger Task Force, Ireland's Minister of Agriculture Joe Walsh (photo) said the ultimate aim is to eliminate "the obscenity" of starvation and hunger in the world, which kills 10 million children each year. Some of the measures recommended in the report are increasing investment in agriculture, especially in small-holder and women farmers, improving nutrition, and making sure governments follow up on their commitments.

"And if one thing more than anything else made the members of the Task Force angry, it was the plethora of commitments that were left unattended, no action taken on them. And we're sick of commitments, we want those commitments acted on."

Part of the inspiration for the taskforce is that Ireland itself faced a famine 150 years ago, in which a third of its population died or emigrated. Other members of the Hunger Taskforce include musician and activist Bono and economist Jeffrey Sachs, as well as Josette Sheeran and Sheila Sisulu of the World Food Programme.

Reporting for UN Radio, I'm Bissera Kostova

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