Leave NO-ONE behind – this is the theme of this year’s World Food Day, and also an urgent call for the world to face the alarming reality that more and more people are being left behind amid a spiraling global food security crisis as a result of multiple drivers. These include the impacts of ongoing and protracted conflicts including the war in Ukraine, the COVID-19 pandemic, and the climate crisis. Further exacerbating the problems are inflation spikes and dramatic rises in the prices of food, feed, fuel, fertilizers, and energy, threatening to create a food access crisis now, and possibly a food availability crisis next season.
Many people have been shocked by the images showing catastrophic levels of acute food insecurity in many parts of the world over recent months and weeks. The latest State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World (SOFI) Report by FAO and its partners estimates that up to 828 million people faced chronic undernourishment in 2021 – 46 million more than in 2020 and 150 million more than in 2019, before COVID-19. The impacts of the pandemic had already widened existing inequalities, increased extreme poverty, and made eradicating hunger even harder, especially in vulnerable countries.
We clearly have a daunting task before us to achieve the objective of leaving NO-ONE behind, just in terms of feeding the world’s population, let alone offering people a life of peace and equality, and an inclusive and sustainable future. However, we must neither sit back in despair nor carry on doing things in the same way and expect different results. There are meaningful ways to address these challenges.
Let’s take one of the most urgent examples: amid the increasing number of emergencies, conflict situations, and disasters we face, one of our top priorities needs to be to ensure our support for the livelihoods of those affected and most vulnerable. This support must be better coordinated and more substantial, and it must come in time for crucial planting and livestock production seasons. The shocking fact is that at least two out of every three people experiencing hunger extremes are themselves small-scale food producers from rural areas. The critical task is to help them to feed themselves, and all of us. It is all too easy for communities to be left behind when they fall into the gaps between emergency aid, development work, and efforts to promote peace in conflict areas, and we need to do better at coordinating how we provide and properly target the much-needed support.
Greater solidarity at a global level is also vital. For instance, the world’s most vulnerable nations need global support to help provide social protection to the poorest among their populations, so that they have the instruments to be resilient before disaster hits. Governments must focus on the common good and avoid protectionist measures that could affect international markets if we are to mitigate the potential shocks of food supply shortages by keeping trade open and supply chains moving.
Governments, the private sector, academia, civil society, and all relevant stakeholders working hand in hand have a role to play to help empower the most vulnerable by transforming the ways in which our food is produced, delivered, and consumed. Crucial to that is providing basic supplies of agricultural inputs, the right training, incentives, innovation, and technologies to vulnerable people, including women and youth. One of the first angles from which to approach the problem is the need for more and better information on who is being left behind and why. If governments have more people-centered data and research at their disposal, they can act on this empirical knowledge to adopt inclusive, responsive, and accountable institutions and social practices. An important step would be for governments to integrate a pledge to leave no one behind into their strategies, plans, and budgets for achieving the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable
Development and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
So what can we do collectively to bring all this about at various levels? The bottom line is that all of us can act effectively and efficiently, in a coherent manner and with greater compassion, by speaking up and influencing decision-makers to ensure NO-ONE is left behind. We can also waste less food, eat nutritious, seasonal food and care for our natural resources like soil and water. In this context, I want to emphasize the vital role of our young people. For the second year running, they are at the center of the World Food Forum Platform that we are organizing in hybrid model at FAO headquarters in Rome this month (17-21 October), comprising a Global Youth Forum, a Science and Innovation Forum, and a Hand-in-Hand Investment Forum. Their ideas and enthusiasm, and their stake in the future, must play a key role in ensuring that action and solidarity are at the center of our thoughts and our passion, to achieve the Four Betters: better production, better nutrition, a better environment, and a better life for all, leaving NO ONE behind!
Admin: I am very aware that when something belongs to someone, they cannot be; or should not be told how to operate, or what to do with their belonging!
Nevertheless, I must inform you that whereas yours is a conduit through which information flows to many Dominicans who look forward to reading about what goes on in our country, we do get sick and tired of seeing this ridiculous China man face.
Week, after week; month, after month he is in our face: The man conducts himself as if he is the government of Dominica; he may well be! China has many embassy’s where there are plenty more Chines residence than in Dominica, however we don’t see any China-man ambassador in the news talking crap, spreading China communist propaganda like him.
Believe it or not the purpose of all the rubbish he is spewing is simply trying to indoctrinate Dominicans into communism.
China’s largest embassy in the world is located in Dominica!
Why!
Please phase out that clown and his propaganda, makes me…
ADMIN: This is not the Chinese ambassador to Dominica he is the head of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations delivering an international message (not just for Dominica) on World Food Day.
We recognize your right to express your general concern and encourage you to do so, however, we must also be careful not to discriminate against entire groups for superficial reasons such as race, nationality or skin-tone.
Please note that such discrimination contradicts the values enshrined in the Dominican constitution and goes against our own values and comment policy which can be viewed here:https://dominicanewsonline.com/news/policies/#comment-policy
I hear for flag day is a Chiney flag Skerrit had wi.
This man has lived and experienced life in recent times in Dominica. Almost all the problems he has enumerated are acutely felt in this country.
Most Dominicans are being left behind to fend for themselves with no proper safety nets. The homeless, mentally ill, bed ridden, abused women and children, the unfortunate have no way to turn to.
There is an acute housing shortage; mass unemployment; widespread poverty; health crisis; food insecurity; and the list of dubious conditions goes on.
How many times have you heard those in authority used this cliche ‘leave no one behind’. It’s just a overused, tired phrase to create false hope to an economically depressed and deprived people.
lbo, there are so many left behind in China who he should be worried about before he take on what is not his damn business!
As I said its all propaganda, this man presence, along with the largest Chines embassy in the world located in Dominica is not to do anything in the interest of the country; they serve a cynical purpose to benefit the communist regime against the rest of the democratic world.
Was this Chines promise ever kept?
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Dominican Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit.
Prime Minister of Dominica Roosevelt Skerrit on Monday defended his administration’s relationship with China as Beijing announced it would be funding the resettlement of residents affected by the recent flooding along the island’s west coast.
Speaking at the launch of the Chinese-funded new building to house the Dominica State College, Skerrit said he had been advised by the Chinese ambassador here that his country has agreed to “finance the resettlement of the residents affected by the flooding of two…
But who fanchoonou addressing about food safety nou? We have found ourselves in a very dangerous state with these Chinese and their food which is everything but safe. We once were a smart national and wouldn’t tolerate any government to form the fool with us. But all that changed when Skerrit went to China and introduced Dominicans to Chinese Ham & Turkey. From that time Dominicans became mooomoo and foolish.
Likewise UWP was a very strong opposition under Lennox Linton and to be fair to them had the thief not steal their votes Linton would probably be prime minister today. But from the time they accepted the Chinese invitation to go to China where they were fed with the Chinese diet, they to returned home like moomoos . In fact the fall of the UWP can be traced back to that trip. Judas turned on them, Joshua turned, Sam turned and look now they forced Linton out. People must be careful with Chines food because that thing dangerous and deadly
You are so right. Just google: Why China Is Taking over Africa’s Resources One Country at a Time- as an example of Chinese imperialistic subjugation of countries run by blacks. There is one thing they know is that black leaders are greedy, and they look for personal wealth over country- and they know Skerro. That experiment was perfected in Africa, and then they demanded tolls on Jamaican roads.
You are so right, and the question is: what is next instore for Dominica, only Budha knows!
I am fed up with these Chinese as if they are the new face of Dominica now. Gason according to the shadow prime minister Roosevelt Skerrit “Go to hell “ .
So am I. To hell with this constant Chinese propaganda. Coming to think of it, to hell with this constant Skerrit propaganda. Nobody can sell me any stale fish, keep it for yourselves!