Targeting National Alliances against Hunger

The theme of the 2003 World Food Day (WFD) was the International Alliance against Hunger. It was celebrated in many countries and some of them took up the challenge of fighting poverty and hunger by establishing national alliances against hunger.

In Burkina Faso, a national Alliance has been officially created on 9 October in the offices of the FAO Representation. The alliance groups 20 organisations of the civil society. Three meetings have been organised up to late November, notably to decide on the composition of the "bureau" of the Alliance: The Catholic Organization for Development and Solidarity (Organisation Catholique pour le Developpement et la Solidarite - OCADES) will act as the President, the Confederation of Burkina Faso Farmers (Confédération Paysanne du Burkina Faso - CPF) as Vice-President, the National Center of Arts and Performances (Centre National des Arts et Spectacles Audiovisuals - CENASA) will follow the external relations, the National Press Office (Office National de la Presse - ONAP) and the Association of African Communication Professionals (Association des Professionnelles Africaines de la Communication - APAC) will be in charge of the communication sector. Other members are the (Amicale des Femmes Forestières du Burkina - AMIFOB) and the Burkina Faso Consumers Organization (Organisation des Consommateurs du Burkina - OCB). Planned activities include the participation in the "Journée du Paysan" (the farmers' day) on 19 December and the preparation of a plan of action for 2004. The Alliance also met with the UMEOA to discuss possible links with other countries in the region.

In Rwanda, within the framework of a Telefood programme, a national alliance against hunger was launched by the Minister for Agriculture, Livestock and Forestry, in the presence of representatives of various ministries, public and private institutions, parliament, international organizations, universities, representatives of civil society and the agricultural sector and the national press. The WFD theme was emphasized by local press, radio and television, through interviews, field visits, seed and livestock distributions.

In Cameroon, under the co-presidency of the Minister of Agriculture and the Archibishop of Yaoundé, the WFD celebrations led to the creation of a Departmental Alliance against Hunger in Saanaga Maritime, a coastal region. Moreover, after a distribution of various agricultural tools to encourage the work of the best farmers, dances, speeches, radio and television programmes and exhibits were organized for the events involving various ministries international organizations, farmers' organizations, the Jean Andjeng Caritas Foundation, the diocesan centre for support to community development (Centre Diocésain d'appui au développement communautaire), and local chiefs of Bikok, in the Pouma region.

In Madagascar, a national Alliance has been launched with the participation of several national and international organisations including SEECALINE, Caritas Madagascar, CRS, national projects, ILO, FAO, UNDP, UNICEF, UNFPA, WFP, The World Bank. A brochure using the layout of the four pages distributed at international level for the World Food Day has been prepared to present the objectives and the members of this national Alliance.

In Cote d'Ivoire, while celebrating the WFD on the theme "Afrique Nourricière, Alliance National contre la faim" (Africa can feed it self - National Alliance Against Hunger), various stakeholders decided to prepare a national conference towards the end of the year on the "Role and contribution of different actors in the national alliance against hunger" as well as a mini- exhibit, all events designed to create a National Alliance against Hunger.

In the Democratic Republic of Congo, the Congolese Minister of Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries, after giving a short summary on the food insecurity and sub-nutrition in the country, made an appeal to all national stakeholders and external bilateral and multilateral partners to build a national alliance to fight hunger. He also invited national programmes and projects to become more effective centering efforts on four basic pillars: commercialization, inputs, financing and legislation.

In Belgium, the Coalition against Hunger launched an appeal to Belgian Parliament members, to dedicate their efforts against hunger. This initiative builds upon other activities carried out in this country such as those led by the Belgian Survival Fund (BSF), a parliamentary group created 20 years ago to respond to the famine caused by the drought in the Sahel. A petition was signed by 27 field organizations calling for an increase of support towards development cooperation. During the week of the WFD, games and musical concerts were organized focusing on the WFD theme and on the slogan "Land for people, not for profit".

In addition, numerous other countries in several continents organized seminars, conferences and/or meetings on the IAAH. In Africa, we can quote Equatorial Guinea, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Mauritania, Senegal, South Africa, Sudan, Togo, Tunisia and Uganda; in Asia and the Pacific: China, India, Indonesia, Iran, Japan and the Rep. of Korea; in Latin America and the Carribbean: Bahamas, Barbados, Colombia, Cuba, Ecuador, El Salvador and Guatemala; in the Middle East: Afghanistan, Azerbaijan and Syria; in Europe: Finland, France, Greece, Irelend, Italy and the United Kingdom.

A report on all activities undertaken for the 2003 World Food Day will be prepared by the end of the yaer and available on the WFD Website. To download the brochure of the International Alliance against Hunger please click here.