How great would this be...

Zero Hunger

The new targets are in line with the UN Secretary-General's Zero Hunger Challenge, which envisions a world where, within our lifetime, no-one experiences chronic hunger and malnutrition. The work of the three Rome-based agencies has been consistently inspired by this shared vision.

FAO Deputy Director-General for Natural Resources, Maria Helena Semedo, stated that the targets would inform UN Member States currently negotiating a set of sustainable development goals.

"There can be no sustainable development without eradicating hunger," she said. "We believe that incorporating these five targets in the post-2015 development agenda will ensure a more comprehensive approach to tackling hunger, food insecurity, malnutrition - to nourishing people while nurturing the planet," she noted.

Highlighting the collaboration of the UN agencies IFAD President Kanayo F. Nwanze said: "A future of 'zero hunger' will not be built by any one organization in isolation. We know that we are stronger and more effective when we work in partnership, including with the billions of rural women and men who work hard each day to ensure our food security."

"Food security and nutrition play a critical role in shaping a brighter tomorrow for today's most vulnerable families particularly the children. Eliminating hunger unlocks the potential of individuals, communities and nations," said WFPExecutive Director, Ertharin Cousin. "Achieving these goals will require hardwiring equity into economic growth assuring no one is left behind."

The three UN agencies stressed that successes associated with the MDGs have been substantial in some areas, such as halving the number of people living in extreme poverty, dramatically increasing the number of people with access to safe drinking water as well as boosting primary school enrolment.

But the agencies emphasized that gains were by no means universal and much work still needed to be done given that around 840 million people remain chronically hungry and that poverty continues to be pervasive in rural areas around the world.

The new development goals to be set by the UN General Assembly in 2015 should therefore be a catalyst towards the realization of the right to adequate food, improved nutrition, gender equality, focus on smallholders and sustainable and resilient food systems.