Set your location:

'Ending conflict is the key'

2004-04-02 14:06

Kampala - Ending conflict in Africa is the key to reducing hunger in the impoverished continent, former Mozambican first lady Graca Machel told an international summit here on Friday.

"Conflicts are the primary causes of food insecurity in our continent," Machel, a children rights advocate, told a conference seeking to draw up strategies to end hunger in Africa by 2020.

An estimated 200 million Africans are currently malnourished, and that number is expected to rise if action is not taken.

The three-day conference, which opened near Kampala on Thursday, is attended by Presidents Yoweri Museveni of Uganda, Olusegun Obasanjo of Nigeria and Abdoulaye Wade of Senegal, as well as more than 500 ministers, experts and farmers from 35 African countries.

"We cannot plan how to get out of food shortage and how to improve the nutrition status of our citizens without concentrating efforts in solving conflicts that affect our society," she added.

Machel said preventing and solving conflicts in Africa was a critical preventive measure to increase the ability to produce enough food on the continent.

"We need to re-prioritise our resources towards development. Resources that were concentrated on arms and the so-called security, has to be diverted now to human security, which is 'enough food for everybody'", she added.

European Union commissioner for development and humanitarian aid, Poul Nielson, also noted that although the undernourished population was decreasing elsewhere in the developing world, it has not changed in sub-Saharan Africa.

He pledged EU's continued support for Africa to attain food security, but cautioned that most of the work has to be done by Africans themselves.

"Development finally depends on developing countries' own actions," Nielson told the conference.

In keynote speeches to the opening session on Thursday, the three presidents urged the West to dump "protectionism" to help foster more food production in the African continent.

"We should not beat about the bush, we need a level-playing field in the global market because market access is the stimulus for people to produce sustainably," Museveni told the conference, whose theme is "Assuring Food and Nutrition Security in Africa by 2020."

- AFP

inside news24

Weather
Traffic
Lottery
Cpt: 18-24°C Morning clouds. Mild. Pta: 15-28°C Sprinkles early. More clouds than sun. Warm.
Jhb: 12-26°C Sprinkles early. More clouds than sun. Mild. Bloem: 14-29°C More sun than clouds. Pleasantly warm.
Dbn: 21-29°C More sun than clouds. Warm. PE: 19-26°C Sprinkles early. More sun than clouds. Mild.
7 day forecasts...

Jobs - Find your dream job

Teller

Gauteng
First National Bank

Senior Java Developer

Western Cape - Cape Town
Quiglies Solutions

Java Developers

Western Cape
CME Recruitment
R250,000-300,000 Per AnnumNegotiable Market Related Negotiable

Cars - Search 1000's of new and used cars

AUDI

2006 Audi A8 4.2 Quattro Tiptronic
67000kms / Quartz Grey / R379 000

OPEL

Corsa 1.4 Utility MY04
2008
R 75,900.00

MERCEDES

C180 K Classic MY07 AT
2008
R 289,995.00

AUDI

A4 1.8T FSi Attraction MY09 8-sp Multitronic
2009
R 324,900.00

Property - Find a new home

SALT ROCK

Single Residential - House R 10 600 000

UMHLANGA RIDGE

Single Residential - House R 10 000 000

DURBAN NORTH

Single Residential - House R 3 499 000

Travel - Look, Book, Go!

Free Games - TOO MUCH NEWS? TAKE A BREAK!

Kalahari.net - shop online today

All Games on Sale

God of War III, Battlefield Bad Company II & more new releases coming soon!

1000s of Kids' Books on Sale

Order your little ones Mr Men, Miss Little, Spot, The Vampire Diaries & more!

All Music on Sale

Get 10% off 24hr music, plus order your copy of the NEW Arno Carsten, Nianell & more!

30% Off Selected DVDs

100s of Oscar winners now on sale! American Beauty, Step Up, Happy Feet, Casino Royale & more!

Order ALL your UNISA textbooks from kalahari.net

Find all your UNISA books you require for your studies and get them delivered right to your doorstep!

Hot Deal of the Day!

Samsung R519 Notebook

Was R5,588.95 Now R4,999.95 - Save R538!

IntelPentium Dual Core T4200 2.0GHz, 8x DVD Super Multi Writer, 1.3 MP Webcam & more. See the electronics shop for more Hot Offers!

Visit www.kalahari.net for millions of books, music, DVDs, games & more!