Food crisis requires urgent action

'Every man, woman and child has the inalienable right to be free from hunger and malnutrition in order to develop fully and maintain their physical and mental faculties, " says the Universal Declaration on the Eradication of Hunger and Malnutrition.

When the world's leaders gathered in Rome in 1974 for the World Food Conference convened by the General Assembly of the United Nations, they were entrusted with developing ways and means whereby the international community as a whole could take specific action to resolve the world food problem within the broader context of development and international economic co-operation. They surely never expected history to repeat itself, especially after the declaration was agreed and the solemn pledges they made.

Yet, once again the world is suffering a food crisis and, not surprisingly, the world's poorest of the poor are bearing the brunt of it. Developing countries, heavily dependent on food imports, are witnessing the deterioration of their balance of payments, while the poor struggle to feed themselves and keep their children in school. Food riots have flared up in more than 30 developing countries. Hunger on a massive scale is looming in Africa.