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LATEST NEWS UPDATES | Oxfam launches campaignfor hunger-free world by Madhur Tankha

Oxfam launches campaignfor hunger-free world by Madhur Tankha

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published Published on Jun 2, 2011   modified Modified on Jun 2, 2011
Oxfam, an international confederation of 15 human rights organisations fighting poverty and injustice, launched a new campaign here on Wednesday for a hunger-free world even as it announced that the number of hungry people the world over has crossed the billion mark and one in four of the world's hungry people live in India.

Despite doubling the size of its economy between 1990 and 2005, the number of people in India who go to bed on an empty stomach has shot up by 65 million because “the economic development excluded the rural people and social protection schemes failed to reach them,” says Oxfam.

Billions go hungry

“Our first work in India was in response to the famine in Bihar in 1951. Sixty years later, hunger and malnourishment continue to remain major issues in our country. By 2050 we will have nine billion hungry people. When we cannot feed one billion, how would we feed such a large number of people? Unless the rich and the poor take action it would be disastrous for all of us. Our system has broken down and we have to improve our distribution and marketing system,” said Oxfam India chief executive officer Nisha Agrawal at the launch of the four-year-long campaign“Grow”.

Pointing out that spiralling food prices had resulted in so many hungry people, Ms. Agrawal said, “We need to transform the way we grow and share food. We are also facing financial and fuel crises. Unfortunately the entire concentration of food is in the hands of few companies….. Our campaign wants to ensure that everyone has enough to eat. Just like Punjab and Haryana, known as the bread baskets of the country, we want to replicate the Green Revolution in the rest of the country, particularly in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. We want small farmers to grow better. And want to focus on girls and women..…women farmers must get the same rights as their counterparts.”

Bollywood actor Rahul Bose said that after the Gujarat riots in 2002 he decided to stay on in the country as a proud citizen and work for communal harmony and gender equality. “I cannot sleep peacefully when such incidents occur. The two issues are still important to me…. We must give respect to every Indian. Every citizen must see to it that no harm is done to anyone whether on the road, market or at any venue. And we need to feed hungry stomachs.”

The Oxfam India cause ambassador said it is high time women farmers started getting loans from banks and grain from the government.

He illustrated the example of Vietnam and Brazil which earlier faced scarcity of foodgrain but are now self-sufficient in food.

“But the number of hungry people has galloped in our country despite the fact that our Gross Domestic Product has increased.”

The Hindu, 2 June, 2011, http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/tp-newdelhi/article2069796.ece


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