Fast to protest world hunger

2009-11-11 20:13

Rome - The head of the UN food agency on Wednesday launched an online petition to enable people to show solidarity with the world's one billion hungry ahead of a world food security summit next week.

Food and Agriculture Organisation Director-General Jacques Diouf also called for a 24-hour fast to protest world hunger, four days before the meeting dubbed the "Hunger Summit" to be held at the agency's Rome headquarters.

Diouf called for "a worldwide 24-hour hunger strike on the eve of the summit in a symbolic show of solidarity with the one billion people who are hungry in the world" and said he would observe the fast on Saturday.

The online petition titled "I Don't Agree" at www.1billionhungry.org states: "One billion people live in chronic hunger. In the time it takes to watch this video, two children will die of hunger."

The viewer can click to "agree that this situation is unacceptable".

"I urge as many people as possible to sign our petition," Diouf said. "Each click will serve as another reason in addition to the one billion we already have for ending hunger. Each click will also serve as a goad to world leaders to walk the talk."

Diouf said he could not state the number of heads of state or government who will attend the summit next Monday through Wednesday, formally titled the World Summit on Food Security,

He said a "large number" would attend, at a level similar to a gathering in 2002 called to evaluate the first ever such summit in 1996.

Pope Benedict XVI and the Brazilian and Zimbabwean presidents, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and Robert Mugabe, have announced their intention to attend.

- SAPA