Hunger and malnutrition in childhood will trap almost a billion young people in poverty by 2025. That’s why we are part of ‘Enough Food for Everyone IF’ – the largest coalition of its kind in the UK since Make Poverty History in 2005 – launched today in Cardiff and across the UK.
The group warns that in a world where there is enough food for everyone, the scandal of children growing up hungry also imposes a grave economic burden on the developing world, costing £78 billion over the next 15 years.
In its first report out today the IF campaign warns of the human and economic cost of hunger in a world where there is enough food to feed everyone.
Great strides have been made in reducing poverty and 14,000 fewer children are dying each day than in 1990. But hunger is threatening to reverse these achievements. Hardworking poor farmers, especially women and their children, vulnerable and ordinary people everywhere face the highest food prices in a generation. In the UK, the numbers of people needing to use food banks has risen sharply. Climate change is making things even worse.
The campaign, launched today at Cardiff Castle, calls on UK Prime Minister David Cameron to use the G8 presidency held in Enniskillen in June to take action on the root causes of the hunger crisis in the poorest countries.
The IF Wales OS Cymru Group is also calling on the Welsh Government and the Welsh public to play their part with a number calls including: support for the Wales for Africa programme; introducing a Sustainable Development Bill that will commit Wales to seriously fighting climate change ; press for the abolition of the EU’s de facto biofuels mandate, which is driving up food prices, causing land grabs, and harming the environment and to renew its commitment to
Education for Sustainable Development and Global Citizenship.
The launch of the campaign is supported by actors Bill Nighy, Keeley Hawes and Bonnie Wright, musician Baaba Maal and Welsh athlete Colin Jackson. Welsh celebrity chef Bryn Williams is also backing the campaign.
Bryn Williams commented: “Having been raised in Denbigh as part of a family largely made up of farmers, using home-grown Welsh ingredients has always been very important to me. Yet global hunger is still a death sentence for millions of children around the world simply because their families can’t grow or afford food such as vegetables, milk or meat. We live in a world where there is enough food for everyone so let’s work together to tackle the root causes of his problem. Let’s make sure that every person in the poorest countries has the support, the tools, the skills and the land that they need to feed themselves by acting now and joining the ‘IF’ campaign in Wales.”
Welsh hurdler Colin Jackson added: “It’s a huge injustice that almost a billion people go to sleep hungry every night. Great strides have been made in reducing poverty and cutting child mortality but there are massive hurdles to be tackled on the issue of hunger. In a world where there is enough food for everyone this is outrageous. IF we work together we can change this and I’m calling on the Welsh public to join me in the race against hunger by supporting this campaign.”
Lila Haines, Chair of the Organising Committee for the IF Wales OS Cymru Campaign said: “We are looking forward to launching the campaign today at Cardiff castle and there will be an opportunity for the public to show their support by signing four giant inflatable letters on the shape of IF and OS. We will also mark the launch of the IF/OS’ reverse graffiti footprint across the length and breadth of Wales from Cardiff to Holyhead, the gateway to Ireland, over the months leading up to the G8 summit in Enniskillen in June.
“IF enough people join us in showing support for ending hunger, world leaders will be forced to act. We sincerely hope that the voices of the Welsh public will ring out loud and clear in supporting this campaign over the coming months.”