Christian Science Monitor examines focus on combatting hunger

Nov 3 2009

The Christian Science Monitor looks at one idea about why hunger is receiving a lot of attention in the international arena. Kanayo Nwanze, the Kenyan "who recently became president of the United Nations' International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) says globalization has made the hunger and rural poverty that always pulled on the heartstrings an international security issue," according to the publication. "That understanding is helping bring questions of hunger and rural development to a broader audience, he says, 'as well as to some very high places.'"

The Christian Science Monitor writes: "Hunger now can mean increased cross-border and international migration. And the riots that accompanied recent food shortages and price hikes in several parts of the world show how hunger can destabilize governments in regions of critical importance to the international battle against extremism. That's why issues of rural hunger and food security are increasingly cropping up in venues ranging from the U.S. Congress to the G-8 group of industrialized countries, Nwanze says."

To illustrate his point, Nwanze highlights a U.S.-led initiative to increase IFAD's funding to $100 million. The article also discusses the "Global Food Security Act, a five-year authorization that seeks to improve U.S. response to food crises, provide new funding for university research in agriculture and for rural development projects" (LaFranchi, 11/2).