18 September 2008: On the eve of the opening of the 63rd
session of the UN General Assembly, the UN Food and Agriculture Organization
(FAO) released a briefing paper on the impact of high food prices on hunger,
which states that rising food prices pushed 75 million more people into hunger
and threatens efforts to realize the goal of halving the number of those in
hunger by 2015. The paper will inform a high-level event on the Millennium
Development Goals (MDGs), to be held on 25 September.

According to the paper,
the number of people suffering from hunger grew to 925 million, primarily due
to soaring prices for food fuel and fertilizers. This development does not only
impact efforts to achieve the hunger-related MDG, but it also affects progress
towards many of the Goals. Hunger reduces labor productivity, health and
education, which are all factors for economic growth. The paper suggests that
achieving the goal of reducing the number of hungry people by 500 million by
2015 requires a two-track approach that would make food accessible to the most
vulnerable and help small producers raise their output and earn more.
The
approach involves measures to enhance direct and immediate access to food, as
well as to create opportunities for the hungry to improve their livelihoods by
promoting agricultural and rural development. The document concludes that
reducing the incidence of hunger will greatly improve the chances of meeting
the MDGs related to poverty reduction, education, child mortality, maternal
health and disease. [FAO Press
Release] [Briefing
Paper]