President William Ruto and Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed during the World Without Hunger Conference in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, on November 7, 2024.
Leaders who gathered at the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa on Thursday rallied a call, linking peace and security to ending chronic hunger in the region.
They spoke at the ‘World Without Hunger’ Conference where they used the occasion to also call for collaboration in the use of new technology, capable of producing food in the wake of erratic weather.
Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, Kenya’s President William Ruto and several other leaders including senior officials in the United Nations and the African Union, admitted one challenge of seeking peace has been linked to effectively feeding the populations.
"In a world of growing inequality, widespread poverty, conflict and climatic disruption, the urgency of ending hunger for good and ensuring food for our rapidly growing populations has never been greater," Dr Ruto said in a speech.
“We must develop agricultural systems that meet the unique needs of diverse communities, invest aggressively to expand sustainable production in all the value chains that constitute our food systems and give priority to strategies aimed at building resilient food systems,” he said.
The event was sponsored by the United Nations Industrial Development Organisation (Unido) and the African Union Commission (AUC).
Unido director-general Gerd Muller called on developed countries to fulfil their past promises to Africa such as inclusive access to financial markets and delivering funding for climate change mitigation.
Ethiopia’s Abiy highlighted national initiatives like “Made in Ethiopia” and Integrated Agro-Industrial Parks, which drive job creation, income growth, and resilience, positioning Ethiopia as a key player in global agricultural development In Kenya, Ruto spoke of how the government was taking steps towards food security, including providing affordable inputs to farmers and placing more fertile land under irrigation.
One programme involves school feeding where children in some public schools get regular basic meals. It cost $30 million in 2023, which wasn't enough, but officials say it's solving a huge problem: school dropouts and malnutrition. Ruto, however, said African countries should be innovative and adaptive.
Ethiopia has used tree-planting campaigns to also encourage rural folk to plant many fruit trees, seeing it as a solution to mitigating climate change and secure food sources.
The country has also become a net importer of wheat, helping sell off its surplus produce to countries in the region.
But his country has struggled to recover from the deadly Tigray war which displaced nearly 2 million people and raised alarms on starvation due to slow access to food aid.
The country is also currently battling armed militias in various parts of the country, something that could slow down the overall recovery.
“Tackling hunger demands a unified response, with key commitments to a Global Fund for Food Security, cross-border knowledge sharing, aligned policies for fair access, and support for smallholder farmers, especially women,” Abiy said.
“The vision for Zero Hunger extends beyond merely addressing hunger and malnutrition. It calls for the creation of sustainable and equitable food systems where everyone has access to sufficient food. It is about enabling our populations dignified lives free from basic wants” he continued,” he added.
A recent report by the UNFAO and WFP reveals that 733 million people — 1 in 11 globally are facing hunger, marking an increase of 152 million people since 2019.
In Africa, 1 in 5 people face hunger daily. Hunger levels have now reached alarming levels in five African countries including Burundi, Chad, Madagascar, Somalia and South Sudan.
Other leaders who addressed the meeting included Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed and President Julius Maada Bio of Sierra Leone, UAE Minister of State Sheikh Shakbout and Deputy African Union Commission Chairperson Monique Nsanzabagwana.
