Over 3 Million People Sign UN-Drafted Petition Urging Action to End Hunger
New York, Nov 30 2010, 10:10AM
A United Nations-drafted petition with the signatures of over three million people calling on world leaders to eliminate
hunger was presented today to governments in Rome.
The petition, and its accompanying campaign, was the initiative of the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), whose
initial goal was to collect one million signatures.
“People from all over the globe are demanding change, urging political leaders to take action and to tackle the root
causes of hunger and food insecurity,”said FAO Director-General Jacques Diouf.
“I very much hope that their voices will be heard. Defeating hunger is a realistic goal for our time, as long as lasting
political, economic, financial and technical solutions are adopted.”
The agency puts the number of chronically hungry people worldwide at 925 million. Last year, the global economic
downturn and rising food prices pushed the figure past the one billion mark for the first time in history.
The petition is part of FAO’s ‘The 1billionhungry project’ which is supported by international celebrities, renowned
athletes, actors, singers, intellectuals, and European football stars, some of whom, including actress Susan Sarandon
and singer Celine Dion, serve as goodwill ambassadors for the agency.
A key feature of the campaign was the use of social networks such as Facebook, Twitter and YouTube, to share educational
material on hunger, as well as to spread the news about the petition and call for signatures.
The campaign also gained the support of a number of world leaders, including Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da
Silva, Argentinean President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, the Prime Minister of Nepal, Madhav Kumar, and Rwandan
President Paul Kagame.
“The success of the 1billion campaign lends even greater urgency and meaning to our work. It gives us allies that we did
not have before. And this movement will continue, as we are now entering into a new phase,” Mr. Diouf, adding that the
campaign intends to keep hunger in the public eye, offer more ways for people to get involved and highlight successful
anti-hunger schemes.
ENDS