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	Countries must accelerate the pace at which they are reducing hunger by International Food Policy Research Institute   Oct. 2016 (Reuters, agencies)   Hunger levels in a number of developing countries have fallen since 2000, but efforts to curb hunger must be accelerated in order to meet the international target to eradicate it by 2030, according to an annual index published this week.   Hunger levels are "alarming" in seven countries, with Central African Republic (CAR), Chad and Zambia experiencing the worst levels, according to the 2016 Global Hunger Index.   Haiti, reeling from last week''s Hurricane Matthew and still recovering from a massive 2010 earthquake, has the fourth highest hunger score.   Another 43 countries, including India, Nigeria and Indonesia, have "serious" hunger levels.   At the current rate of decline, more than 45 countries - including India, Pakistan, Haiti, Yemen, and Afghanistan - will have "moderate" to "alarming" hunger scores in the year 2030, the authors of the index said.   "Countries must accelerate the pace at which they are reducing hunger" if they are to meet the 2030 target, Shenggen Fan, director general of the Washington-based International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), said.   "Ending global hunger is certainly possible, but it''s up to all of us.. to set the priorities right to ensure that governments, the private sector and civil society devote the time and resources necessary," Fan added.   World leaders agreed a 2030 deadline for ending global hunger last year as part of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) - a globally agreed plan for tackling poverty, hunger and inequality.   IFPRI produces the annual index along with aid agencies Concern Worldwide and Welthungerhilfe.   Overall, at least 795 million people go to bed hungry every night.   "We have the technology, knowledge and resources to achieve zero hunger. What is missing is both the urgency and the political will to turn commitments into action," said Dominic MacSorley, CEO of Concern Worldwide.   The hunger index ranks countries based on undernourishment, child mortality, child wasting (low weight for height) and child stunting (low height for age). The 2016 report ranked 118 developing countries.   Nearly half the population in CAR and Zambia, and one in three people in Chad, are undernourished, it showed. Sub-Saharan Africa has the highest hunger levels, followed closely by South Asia.   "Too many people are hungry today. There is a need for urgent, thoughtful and innovative action to ensure that no one ever goes hungry again," said David Nabarro, special adviser to the U.N. secretary-general on the SDGs.   * Access the Global Hunger Index via the link below. Visit the related web page
	Development as a human right is still an unfulfilled promise for billions of people by IPS/G77 Newswire, OHCHR, agencies   The United Nations recently commemorated the 30th anniversary of the “Right to Development”, the Group of 77 (G77) and the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) expressed strong collective support for one of the basic human rights described as a key element in the implementation of the UN’s post-2015 development agenda.   “Development as a human right is still an unfulfilled promise for billions of people,” said a joint statement issued September 22 by two of the largest economic and political groupings at the United Nations.   The 133-member G77 (joined by China) and the 120-member NAM said 30 years ago, “we recognized the human person as the central subject of the development process and therefore development policy should make the human being the main participant and beneficiary of development.” And it placed people at the center of development while demanding equal opportunities and equitable distribution of economic resources.   Since then, said the joint statement, the international community has embraced the concept of “people-centred” development.   At the same time, it has recognized that, despite continuous efforts on the part of the international community, “the gap between developed and developing countries remains unacceptably wide, that most of the developing countries continue to face difficulties in participating in the globalization process and that many risk being marginalized and effectively excluded from its benefits.”   The resolution on the ‘Declaration on the Right to Development’ was adopted at the 97th plenary meeting of the General Assembly back in December 1986.   Addressing a high level meeting of the General Assembly commemorating the 30th anniversary of the Right to Development, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said despite great strides forward, developing countries still struggle with the diversification of their economies, international trade, macroeconomic and fiscal issues and ensuring equitable and sustainable frameworks for the use of natural resources.   There are more least developed countries (LDCs) now than in 1986. Even among middle-income countries, few are on paths that can ensure sustained, sustainable and equitable growth and poverty eradication.   Developed countries also face new challenges, such as rising inequality and financial crises, he said.   “We have new prospects for realizing the right to development, thanks to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.. It is an opportune time to demonstrate and reiterate our unequivocal commitment to the right to development, in particular the need to strive for greater acceptance, operationalization and the realization of this right at the international level.”   The 2030 Agenda explicitly recognizes the Declaration of the Right to Development and reflects its spirit. Its emphasis on equality, participation, empowerment and ensuring that no one is left behind, echoes the definition of the right to development as “an inalienable human right”.   It recognizes, like the Declaration, that each country has primary responsibility for its own economic and social development while affirming that international cooperation and partnership are essential to ensure implementation.   The 2030 Agenda has unprecedented potential to fulfil the aspirations that motivated the Declaration on the Right to Development, and that remain critical to this day.   The President of the General Assembly Peter Thomson said that many of the commitments on the UN’s post-2015 development agenda mirror duties arising from the Declaration on the Right to Development.   It includes a duty on each government to put the well-being of the entire population, and of all individuals, at the heart of their policies and strategies.   This includes by ensuring their free and meaningful participation in development efforts and decision-making process, and in the distribution of the resulting benefits.   It includes the duty to remove structural obstacles and to address both historical and contemporary inequities that are holding back developing countries, he noted.   And it includes the need for international cooperation in support of those countries that remain in vulnerable situations – whether they be the least developed countries; those affected by conflict and instability; or those struggling to adapt to the impacts of climate changes, Thomson told delegates.   “As we mark this Anniversary, let us recognize that if we are to realize the Right to Development, we must do so together; working in responsible and ethical partnerships between governments, the UN system, civil society, the private sector and others.”   Also addressing the high level meeting, the European Union’s (EU) Special Representative for Human Rights Stavros Lambrindis, said: “We wish to reiterate our support for the right to development, as based on the indivisibility and interdependence of all human rights.”   With its universal applicability and its importance in shaping development priorities, the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development will open up new avenues to integrate human rights into global and national policies in both developed and developing countries over the next 15 years, he added.   In its joint statement, the G77 and NAM said the Right to Development is crucial to the three agreements reached last year: the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, the Addis Ababa Action Agenda on Financing for Development and the Paris Climate Agreement under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change which have vowed to “leave no one behind.”   “There is no doubt that in order for us to reach that goal, the right to development must be central to the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development taking into account countries and peoples who face specific challenges, in particular, African countries, least developed countries, landlocked developing countries and small island developing States as well as specific challenges that many middle-income countries face, as well as countries facing conflict and post-conflict situations, humanitarian emergencies, the effects of climate change and global pandemics.”   The 30th Anniversary coincides with the first year of implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. “So it is an opportune time to demonstrate and reiterate our unequivocal commitment to the right to development, in particular the need to strive for greater acceptance, operationalization and the realization of this right at the international level.”   “We must continue our efforts also, to mainstream this right in our work at the national and regional level and in the United Nations, particularly in the Human Rights mechanisms, as well as international financial and multilateral trading systems in the context of the elaboration of their policies in line with the 2030 Agenda.”   A recurring themes in conversations and discussions was the understanding that the realization of the right to development is a necessity now, more than ever.   http://bit.ly/2gU8zdZ http://www.ohchr.org/EN/Issues/Development/Pages/DevelopmentIndex.aspx http://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/sustainable-development-goals/   * Sustainable Development Goals: A practical guide for national action and accountability (Amnesty International, TAP Network)   The 2030 agenda for Sustainable Development (SDGs) will lead to transformational change only if governments take necessary steps to implement the goals and targets, create and disseminate national indicators to measure progress and mobilise resources at the national level to fulfil the agenda. This guide provides some practical tools for action and accountability at the national and international level:   http://www.amnesty.org/en/documents/act10/4699/2016/en/ Visit the related web page
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