Availability, access, utilization and stability are the four pillars of food security, closely linked to the three key dimensions of Sustainability: environmental, social and economic. The World Food Programme (WFP) Session of the Executive Board held in Rome from the 24th to the 28th June 2024 was an important step to take stock of the situation.
The Principality of Monaco joined the international summit at the Board of the World Food Programme (WFP), which opened on the celebration of the International Women in Diplomacy Day.
H.E. Cindy McCain, Executive Director, stressed the importance to ensure food supply and to safeguard local communities involved in severe geopolitical crises, notably Gaza, Sudan, Sahel, Haiti, Yemen, Myanmar and Ukraine.
In particular, she encouraged Member States' decision makers to act at political and diplomatic level in order «to bypass any access constraint, ensure the safety and security of humanitarian workers and, above all, to help finding political solutions to end conflicts able to generate hunger and suffering worldwide ».
During this session, the WFP Executive Board approved the Annual Report (showcasing the 2023 results), the Management Plan for 2024-2026, as well as three Strategic Plans as for some Countries, including the Kingdom of Lesotho, for the period 2024-2029.
H.E. Anne Eastwood, Ambassador of Monaco to Italy, met the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Lesotho, following up the support by the Principality to school feeding and small producers in two southern districts of the South-African Country particularly affected by poverty, malnutrition and the consequences of climate change.
Food Security is therefore on the top list of Monaco's priorities, related to Sustainable Development Goal 2 (Zero Hunger), in partnership with the World Food Programme, leading multilateral actor as for International Cooperation. Nine aid projects are been carried out by Monaco to develop the WFP School Feeding Strategy 2020-2030 and the Global School Meals Coalition launched in 2021.
Both initiatives are essential to create a fairer distribution of food worldwide. The WFP Strategy aims at creating a joint network of governmental representatives and other partners to help primary school disfavoured children access good quality meals and nutrition targeted services. The School Meals Coalition is willing to provide every child with healthy food by 2030.
An equitable access to food is still a serious problem at the global scale. And the recent health, civil, social and economic crises have increased its effects. The 2023 UN Report reported that hunger involved between 691 and 783 million people (in 2022), with an average of 735 million people starving. The trend increased of 122 million people compared to 2019 (before the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic), like an exponential rising up in poor nutrition. Thus, the urgent need to multiply projects such as those sponsored by the Principality of Monaco, in partnership with the World Food Programme. ***
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By Maurice Abbati
Journalist; Editor; Communication, Media and Public Relations Specialist
Lecturer and Author in English language of Technical Articles and the Manual: "Communicating the Environment to Save the Planet, a Journey into Eco-Communication"Â by Springer International Publishing.
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