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Government of Vietnam & FAO launch ZHC, initiative to eradicate hunger
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Friday, 16 January, 2015, 08 : 00 AM [IST]
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fiogf49gjkf0d The government of Vietnam, in collaboration with the United Nations’ (UN) Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), launched the National Zero Hunger Challenge (ZHC), a major initiative to eradicate hunger, on Wednesday.
Nguyen Tan Dung, the Asian nation’s prime minister, led the launch with Cao Duc Phat, its minister of agriculture and rural development, and other leaders of line ministries, symbolising its commitment to achieving zero hunger by 2025.
Jose Graziano da Silva, director general, FAO said, “Zero hunger is an ambitious goal, but different countries around the world show that it is not an impossible dream. We welcome the fact that Vietnam has joined the Zero Hunger Challenge, which all of us should answer, as individuals and collectively.”
Dung said, “Vietnam’s participation in the ZHC is not only an active response to a UN initiative, but also a practical move to further address poverty reduction, food security and nutrition in rural areas, especially in remote and isolated ones home to ethnic minorities and vulnerable groups in the North-West and the Central Highlands.”
Hiroyuki Konuma, assistant director general and regional representative for Asia and the Pacific, FAO, and Pratibha Mehta, United Nations’ resident coordinator in Vietnam, also participated in the event, alongside provincial leaders, civil society organisations (CSO) and development partners.
Konuma said, “Our goal must be zero hunger, and the launch of the ZHC is a big step forward for Vietnam as it strives to eradicate hunger.”
“FAO is a solid partner with the government, and would provide whatever technical assistance is necessary to help the people of Vietnam achieve this goal. We can defeat hunger if we work together,” he added.
“Vietnam has already reduced the proportion of undernourished by more than 70 per cent since 1990-1992 and reached the millennium development goals (MDG) target, so zero hunger is not an impossible target,” Konuma said.
“FAO’s continuing support to the government of Vietnam and its development partners, including CSO, would help us meet the challenges ahead and to attain our common Zero Hunger goal,” he added.
The national action plan would create an institutional platform to design and implement food security and nutrition policies measures in a coordinated manner that would have a sustainable impact on national food security, sustainable poverty reduction and new rural development.
Mehta said, “The UN system in Vietnam is committed to helping the country achieve zero hunger goals through the UN One Plan.”
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