15 May 2012

NAIROBI / AFRICA HDR LAUNCH

UNDP launched its first Africa Human Development Report today (15 May) ahead of a G8 Summit on Friday at which President Obama is meeting African leaders to discuss food security. The UNDP-sponsored report finds that in spite of rapid economic growth, hunger remains a major problem for Africa. UNDP

Posted at: May 15, 2012 5:29 pm

Duration: 02:04

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STORY: NAIROBI / AFRICA HDR LAUNCH
TRT: 2.04
SOURCE: UNDP / UNTV
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH / NATS

DATELINE: 15 MAY 2012, NAIROBI, KENYA / FILE

SHOTLIST:

FILE – UNTV – 2009, NAIROBI, KENYA

1. Wide shot, exterior United Nations headquarters complex

UNDP – 15 MAY 2012, NAIROBI, KENYA

2. Various shots, UNDP Administrator Helen Clark speaking at podium
3. Various shots, delegate typing
4. Med shot, Kenyan President Mwai Kibaki seated at the podium
5. Wide shot, audience
6. SOUNDBITE (English) Helen Clark, Administrator of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP):
"The leadership of Africa is critical. And so too is the leadership and support of development partners. We all need to lift our level of ambition to eradicate hunger and malnutrition within the boundaries of nature."
7. Med shot, Kenyan Foreign Minister Sam Ongeri sitting at podium
8. Wide shot, audience
9. SOUNDBITE (English) Mwai Kibaki, President of Kenya:
"Although Kenya is rated in this report as one of the countries at high risk of food insecurity, I wish to point out that we have made good progress towards enhancing food security over the last ten years. Despite the impact of drought in the past five years, our agricultural sector attained a growth of 6.3 percent in the year 2010."
10. Wide shot, conference hall with delegates on floor and press in gallery
11. Various shots, Clark and Kibaki photo op
12. Various shots, Clark at press conference
13. Close up, hand taking notes
14. SOUNDBITE (English) Helen Clark, Administrator of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP):
"With respect to the G8 I hope that they too when talking about food security will take a comprehensive approach. It's not just about food production, it's about  a range of other issues, it's about the ability to sustain food production through the climate cycle, which is becoming more and more erratic and extreme, so more adaptation to that is required. Food security is also about nutrition, not just about enough food, but also the right kind of food. And I hope that the G8 might also notice and support the need for women to be equal players in this, in a way that they haven't been able to be today."
15. Close up, camera
16. Pan right, Clark and Kibaki walking towards the exit of the building with other delegates

STORYLINE:

Africa is growing fast, but too many of its people are still going hungry – that was the central message of a report into Human Development in Africa launched today (15 May) by the UN Development Programme (UNDP).

At the launch ceremony in Kenya's capital Nairobi, UNDP Administrator Helen Clark told delegates that not enough is being done to combat food insecurity.

"The leadership of Africa is critical." said Clark. "And so too is the leadership and support of development partners. We all need to lift our level of ambition to eradicate hunger and malnutrition within the boundaries of nature."

Kenya's President MwaiKibaki attended the ceremony together with Kenya's ministers of Agriculture and Foreign Affairs, and in his speech, he defended his country's development track-record.

"Although Kenya is rated in this report as one of the countries at high risk of food insecurity, I wish to point out that we have made good progress towards enhancing food security over the last ten years," Kibaki told the conference. "The various reforms that we have introduced in the agricultural sector are already bearing fruit. Despite the impact of drought in the past five years, our agricultural sector attained a growth of 6.3 percent in the year 2010."

But with more than one in four of its 856 million people undernourished, sub-Saharan Africa remains the world's most food-insecure region.

The report urges African countries to stop taking food aid and instead focus on boosting their agricultural sectors, focusing especially on the rural poor and on women, who in Africa do not have the same access to land and resources as men. It also blames misguided policies and lack of political will for the food insecurity in Africa, and gives recommendations for how African countries can increase their productivity.

The report's launch comes days before a G8 summit on Friday, where President Obama is meeting African leaders to discuss food security in Africa.

"I hope that they too when talking about food security will take a comprehensive approach," Clark told journalists at a press conference after the launch. "It's not just about food production, it's about a range of other issues, it's about the ability to sustain food production through the climate cycle, which is becoming more and more erratic and extreme, so more adaptation to that is required. Food security is also about nutrition, not just about enough food, but also the right kind of food. And I hope that the G8 might also notice and support the need for women to be equal players in this, in a way that they haven't been able to be today."

In her speech Helen Clark had expressed her hope that this report would stimulate debate and action. Two thirds of working Africans make a living off the land, and with Africa's population projected to exceed 2 billion in 2050, action needs to be taken now to ensure that farmers are empowered and that the continent is able to feed its people in future.