NEW YORK, June 07: There is worldwide concern over severe food crisis. Bangladesh perhaps, which is vulnerable to the crisis, is the only nation where the food crunch and associated price hike, has inspired yet no serious anxiety in the concerned quarters. So acute is the crisis that it is being described as ' tsunami' and 'globalisation of hunger'.
The call for countering the grave situation has come from the most unexpected international quarters. The oil price boom has not only enabled the oil rich Arab nations from what the Western World say boosting Islamic Jihadists but has also come to the aid of the collapsing corporate world in the US. Citigroup and Meryl Lynch will say how grateful to the Arab nations.
Kuwait to the utter surprise of the world has called for creating international coalition to counter hunger and poverty. Kuwait made this call at the high level conference on world food security. The main objective of the conference has been to pledge commitment at the highest political level to the war on hunger and malnutrition. It also aims at realising food security for all mankind. The present food crisis is being seen as the worst thing to happen in recent days.
These goals demand clear political commitment by the entire international community. "We are still far from bearing our collective responsibility of securing decent livelihood and basic nutrition for the peoples of the world. The international community must work for a word free of pangs of hunger," the speaker at the conference said.
Kuwait called for creation for a global fund for decent living and contributed $100 million.
The International Labour Organisation (ILO) Director General Juan Somavia lauded Kuwait's initiative. The ILO condemned and described the situation in Palestine as collective punishment of the workers there. Somavia was referring to Isreal's prolonged siege on Gaza strip and the West Bank that has taken a heavy toll on Palestinian people.
Meanwhile, ceasing production of ethanol from gains would help ease global grains shortages. Ethanol eats away 20 million ton of grains. The UN chief Ban Ki-moon cautioned all concerned that failure "is not an option to address the global crisis of soaring food prices".
"We simply cannot afford to fail. Hundreds of millions of people expect no less", the UN chief said.
A comprehensive Framework of Action is needed to ease the crisis and would require substantial and sustained financial and political commitment. An UN official said a broad consensus on confronting the problem is building around the world.
The World Bank chief Robert Zoellick called for lifting the export of grains that contributed to the crisis. He said, "we need an international call to remove export bans. Export ban has to be lifted for humanitarian purposes".
Oxfam chief said ban and price control is not the best responseto the current food crisis. Industrialised nations would do well to focuson their own policies rather than accusing the poor nations The hugesubsidies the rich nations provide for farm products is another reason for the crisis.
Kofi Anan joined three UN agencies for Green Revolution in Africa -- an area which suffers most from food shortages. (E-mail : )
