UN recognizes leaders in fight against hunger

UN agency recognizes leaders in fight against hunger

The United Nations Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) today recognized Brazilian documentary film maker Marcelo Canellas and Reuters correspondent David Brough for their respective roles in raising public awareness about global hunger.

Both received the 2003 A. H. Boerma Award for journalism from the agency, which today opened its biennial conference in Rome.

Mr. Canellas has brought "tough and often sensitive issues" to primetime television, according to FAO, which hailed his 2001 series on the causes and effects of hunger in Brazil. Some 35 million people viewed the documentaries, which were credited with influencing political thinking on the issue.

Mr. Brough, the Rome bureau commodities correspondent for Reuters, has written articles which "increased understanding of complex food and agriculture issues," FAO said.

Also today, the agency presented its Saouma Award to the Sichuan Provincial Plant Protection Station of China and the Nicaraguan Institute of Women, praising both for their gains in the battle for food security.

In addition, FAO presented the 2003 B.R. Sen Award, which recognizes a field officer who has made an outstanding contribution to rural development, to Dutch national James William Everts, who broke new ground in Senegal by establishing a research and training centre for the environmental toxicology of pesticides.

All three awards are named after former FAO Director-Generals: Addeke Hendrik Boerma of the Netherlands, Binay Ranjan Sen of India and Edouard Saouma of Lebanon.

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