Président de la Commission de l’Union Africaine (depuis le 1er. février 2008)
Président du Ghana,
Président de l’Union Africaine (depuis janvier 2007)
The food and nutrition security situation in sub-Saharan Africa is deteriorating, with more than 200 million Africans now suffering from hunger and malnutrition. The vulnerable groups most affected are children, pregnant women, lactating mothers and the elderly.
This disheartening trend should not be a blueprint for the future. Therefore the issue of assuring food security for all in Africa is a critical concern not only for African governments but also for the international community.
A NEPAD Food Security Summit, involving the availability, accessibility and affordability of food, will be held in Abuja, Nigeria, from 8-12 September 2006. It will be hosted by the Nigerian Government, through its Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, in collaboration with NEPAD and the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO).
The summit will bring together African Heads of States and other key stakeholders from African Union (AU) member states, Regional Economic Communities, civil societies, institutions and international organisations to discuss and produce a revised food security Action Plan and appropriate strategies to be adopted by each nation in order to tackle the issue of national and continental food security.
The NEPAD strategic framework recognises the need for African nations to reduce pervasive poverty, ensure sufficiency in basic food production, provision of better employment opportunities and achievement of a high growth rate for the economy.
The current food insecurity situation in Africa south of the Sahara requires thorough diagnosis of the constraints and any underlying factors contributing to the situation with a view to coming up with an appropriate agenda for the Plan of Action.
The Objectives of the Summit : The main objective of the summit will be to critically examine the implementation by the African countries of the recommendations of the 1996 World Food Summit (and other on-going initiatives) to achieve food security for all. Other specific objectives include :
The establishment of the current status of food insecurity in Africa and challenges to national and international communities.
Reviewing current regional programmes/projects on food security to determine the effects on availability and affordability.
Bringing all the stakeholders together to discuss, agree on and organise collective solutions to regional problems on food security.
Critically examine poverty alleviation measures in Africa in line with the Millennium Development Goals (MDG).
Agreement by African national governments to ensure a peaceful and stable environment for adequate access for people to means of production, research development, human capacity building and efficient monitoring of food security programme/projects.
Agreement on regional trade to promote marketing of agricultural produce and commodity exchange.
Concrete recommendations as to how Africa will feed the projected half a billion Africans to be born in the next 20-25 years.
Source : nepad news, july 21st, 2006