Food and hunger issues are the daily battles that continue to gnaw the efforts of the poor and the marginalised throughout the world, particularly in the south where production and distribution are inadequate. 

This was stated in a press release issued by ActionAid, which indicates that “it was barely seven years ago that would leaders promised us that hunger would be cut down by half in 2015. At the time, the figures stood at 852 million people going to bed without food”. 

However, the release stated that instead of seeing a downward movement, it is shocking to realise that today the figure stands at 854 million people, who go to bed without food. This scenario is worst in the sub-Saharan Africa, where above the total of 206 million are living within. “This is certainly an indication that there is a fundamental failure on their side which needs to be addressed by all and sundry, hence ActionAid’s Hunger -Free campaign working with young people to end hunger by keeping world leaders on their toes to keep to their word”, the release pointed out.

“The above is anchored on the right of food which states that, by virtue of birth, everyone on the planet has the right to food. It is perhaps the most fundamental and enabling human right of all. Without food we cannot thrive. We cannot function, we cannot live. Hunger dulls the intellect, hinders development and thwarts productivity. It prevents the entire societies from realising their potential. And it is responsible for more deaths globally than Aids, malaria, and TB combined,” the release added.

Since 1948, the United Nations (UN) has identified access to adequate food as both an individual right and a collective responsibility.

Almost 16,000 children die every day from hunger-related causes: that’s one child every second, one in five people in the developing countries is chronically-undernourished, while chronic hunger kills more people than disasters, diseases and wars.

The release further stated that “it is against these startling realities that the Hunger-Free campaign is targeting young people who are found to possess great energy levels, which if tapped and used in the right way can generate some far-reaching impact on ending hunger.  To this end, we in The Gambia through partnership with Africa Youth Coalition Against Hunger-The Gambia (AYCAH) and other youth organisations and institutions, like the National Youth Council (NYC), National Youth Association for Food Security (NaYAFS), among a host of others will stage a street caravan from the Churchill Shell Station to the Latrikunda Buffer Zone, starting at 4pm on the 28 June 2007”. 

At the Buffer Zone, speeches are expected be delivered on the relevance of the event, to be followed by free- life performances, by Jaliba Kuyateh, Gambia’s UNICEF Ambassador and the Kumareh Band and the Royal Family.  The songs are not only meant to entertain the crowd, but to educate people on the causes and impact of hunger. The general public is being called to attend this history-making event in ending hunger to enhance us all to live a life of dignity.