Drawing on the Millennium Declaration , the UN system, World Bank and OECD drew up a set of eight Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) with associated targets and indicators. All 191 United Nations member states have pledged to meet the MDGs by the year 2015. The first Goal is to Eradicate Extreme Poverty and Hunger; its targets are to halve, between 1990 and 2015, the proportion of people whose income is less than $1 a day and the proportion of people who suffer from hunger.
20-11-2009The three-day UN summit on world food security wrapped up in Rome earlier this week. The host country has lamented that the high profile summit failed to produce either measurable targets or specific deadlines for ending a scourge that afflicts more than 1 billion people around the planet.
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20-11-2009Bundelkhand region in India has been reeling under drought for quite some time now. The central government’s special drought mitigation package of more than Rs 70 billion for the next three years promises to bring relief to the people.
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19-11-2009The Indian government has ordered hundreds of paramilitary troops into eastern parts of the country where Maoist rebels have increasingly been taking control, writes Mark Tully, former BBC Delhi correspondent. There is tremendous resentment among the tribals at their neglect by successive governments, he adds.
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Revival of old practice comes handy in times of drought 18-11-2009By reviving an old farm practice of pata, women in this western Indian district are ensuring food security in times of drought by growing vegetables, fruits, sorghum and pigeon peas. Traditionally, pata signifies a woman’s space in agriculture, which had lost its significance after Green Revolution and commercialisation.
Sri Lanka: Migration dream remains, despite dangers 19-11-2009Both Sinhala and Tamil Sri Lankans want to leave the country for reasons of security and to seek better economic opportunities abroad. While some go through legal channels, there are many who take an illegal route at great personal risks.
11-11-2009The impoverished state of Bihar in India will soon introduce e-muster rolls, biometric smart cards and an online system for effective and transparent implementation of National Rural Employment Guarantee Act. A non-profit technology entity called Life Line to Communities is providing technical assistance.
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Image: Bio-metric tracking of payments under NREGA/ Photo credit: Manthan Award
15-10-2009FAO's annual hunger report The State of Food Insecurity shows how the economic crisis has led to the rise in the number of hungry people in the world. The document highlights the urgent need for investment in agriculture and calls for more international commitment to end the food insecurity.
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Image: Cover page of the report/ Photo credit: FAO
