AU: Food crisis could defeat MDGs

  1. Posted on Wednesday 22 October 2008 - 11:50
    Dolphyne
    Image of Dolphyne
    Joseph Appiah-Dolphyne, AfricaNews editor in Accra, Ghana
    Many African nations will not meet the UN's poverty reduction goals in the face of high food prices and global financial turmoil, the AU has warned. The MDGs is to reduce by half the number of people living on less than $1 a day, number of people suffering from hunger and boost development aid by 2015.
    africa
    "It is very sad to note that many African countries will not be able to achieve the MDGs by 2015 unless the food crisis is addressed," Jean Ping, chairman of the African Union Commission, told officials meeting in the Ethiopian capital.

    "The current global financial crisis is also likely to adversely impact on African economies, including the price of food, foreign direct investment as well as export earnings," he said.

    In addition to reducing poverty and improving trade conditions, the goals focus on reducing child mortality, fighting diseases like AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis and other problems that plague the developing world, according to the Reuters.

    According to some estimates, around 100 million people may have been pushed back into poverty by sharp increase in food prices over the past year.

    Ping was addressing a meeting in Addis Ababa aimed at improving cooperation between U.N. agencies and the African Union and other continental bodies like the Partnership for African Development and the African Development Bank.

Latest News

  1. OPINION: Welcome to African Green Revolution24/05For the past century and a half, Africa has tried various agricultural approaches without much success.
  2. Egyptians vote in historic election23/05Egyptians began voting freely on Wednesday for the first time to pick their president in a wide open election that pits Islamists against men who serv…
  3. Africa Day 2012 - a moment for reflection and…22/0525th May is Africa Day. For many years it has been a celebration of African unity. It dates back to 1963 when the Organisation of African Unity (OAU) …
  4. South Africa's African agenda21/05The Deputy President of the Republic of South Africa, Kgalema Mothlanthe paid a rare visit to Ghana in April at the invitation of John Dramani Mahama …
  5. Women struggle to rinse hunger, poverty stains21/05Just looking at her one clearly appreciates that she is old and frail therefore in need of support for food, clothing and shelter to live comfortably …
  6. Climate Climate change affects migratory birds…21/05Changes in the climate globally have affected the movement of both migratory and resident species of birds, Nature Uganda has said.
  7. Ghana: Foreign retailers cited for currency…18/05The Ghana Union of Traders Association (GUTA) is attributing the sharp depreciation of the Ghana cedi against major currencies to the illegal activiti…
  8. Kenya: Community radio brings succour to…18/05Korogocho, a slum in northeastern Nairobi with 100,000 inhabitants, had many of the ingredients for a political explosion similar to those that rocked…
  9. Veld fires 'flame' Zimbabwe's…16/05Over the years, Zimbabwe has experienced the scourge of veld fires destroying property worth thousands of dollars.
  10. Liberia commends ECOWAS for support14/05The induction training of pioneer Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Volunteers for Liberia kicked off in Monrovia, with the Deputy Mi…
  11. Vanishing Lake Chad puts 30m lives at risk14/05As you approach the Lake Chad basin from Maiduguri, in north-eastern Nigeria, the evidence of despair is telling.
  12. Heavy rains cause havoc in Kenya14/05Heavy Rainfall continued to wreak havoc across the country leading to the suspension of relief food in some parts of the country as most roads in Turk…
  13. Zimbabwe: Growth points lie dormant14/05The Zimbabwean government mooted the concept of growth points in the 1980s as a means of decongesting cities and towns.
  14. Sierra Leone improves in infant mortality11/05Sierra Leone has improved in infant mortality cases according to Save the Children- World Motherhood index 2012 report. The West Africa country descri…
  15. Zimbabwe: Resettled farmers fail to utilize…10/05Resettled farmers in Zimbabwe are failing to utilize land due to inadequate farming inputs and lack of resources.
News archive