Can “hope” feed “hunger”?
At least one in six of the world’s population goes short of food, according the latest report by Oxfam International. I came across this report while I was trying to find some material on food crisis for a course paper. It immediately drew my attention because almost everything mentioned in this report is like a mirror image of the present situation. It is quite ironical how big organisations and agencies know what the problem is but somehow the solutions are always based on hope. These hopes are also mainly wrapped up in “conferences”, over a four course meal, just by the side of the blue waters of Caribbean.
Coming back to the report, which was published in January 2009, a lot of things caught my attention and I realised how Oxfam has structured its report just the way it ought to be. But the question is, what next?
The report states climate change and global recession as the two growing threats that are likely to aggravate the problem of hunger.
The report questions the actions of the International community in solving this problem. It suggests that a decrease in the number of world hunger will happen only when governments across the world take long term measures to address its underlying causes, such as unequal access to land, water and other resources.
It also calls upon the governments and International aid agencies to take urgent and constant practical action to meet the needs of people living in extreme poverty.
The report applauds the efforts made by countries like India, Ethiopia, Brazil, Indonesia and Malawi in providing long term support to vulnerable communities. However, it also suggests that only a handful of governments have established interventions that are sufficiently comprehensive to meet people’s food needs effectively or protect them against disasters and market volatility.
The need for more and more governments to provide proper support to these communities is emphasised upon in the report.
One of the interesting things to note in the report is the stress on the need for International humanitarian assistance in situations of conflict or major disaster. It calls for International emergency interventions to save lives and protect and restore livelihoods in times of war and major disasters, especially in a situation when the governments lack the political will to do so.
The efforts made by the World Food Programme (WFP) and its partners during the Indian Ocean Tsunami and the war in Darfur in 2004 are treated as benchmarks in the International Community. Further the report states that the duty to fulfil the right to food falls primarily on the state and it is the core purpose of the government.
Living up to its motto of food and social protection to all, Oxfam makes a number of recommendations, each to the government of developing countries, Donors and International organisations and International non-governmental agencies.
The report suggests a balanced and coordinated effort on part of the governments, agencies and donors. They must act to provide systematic emergency assistance and longer term support to people living in extreme poverty situations. According to the report, the problem of hunger and poverty is ignored in the present day world.
There is more emphasis and hope on longer-term support and finding solutions to this problem is sometimes the centre of a lot of International debates and discussions. But hungry people cannot be fed on hope. The basic requirement is not huge and fancy conferences and seminars on food crisis in the most exotic locations. The need of the hour is the realisation of the right of food and social protection of people living ne extreme poverty. The day we realise that, half a battle is won!
http://www.oxfam.org/policy/bp127-billion-hungry-people