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	UN, NGOs call on G20 not to forget the Poorest by Jim Lobe & Eli Clifton Inter Press Service   Sept 2009   The major non-governmental organisations have called on leaders of the Group of 20 nations not to forget the needs of the world"s poorest countries, which have been severely affected by the last year"s financial crisis.   In a recent report, the World Bank noted the global recession, whose repercussions are still being felt around the world, will have resulted in an additional 90 million people living in absolute poverty, or on less than $1.25 a day, by the end of next year.   "The reality is that as the world is showing signs of some economic recovery, at least in affluent countries, low income countries simply do not have the fiscal space to implement countercyclical policies," said Sam Worthington, president of InterAction, a coalition of U.S.-based international NGOs.   Moreover, at least $12 billion in critical spending on basic needs and infrastructure of the world"s poorest people have been put at risk by the crisis.   "The poor and most vulnerable are at greatest risk from economic shocks – families are pushed into poverty, health conditions deteriorate, school attendance declines, and progress in other critical areas is stalled or reversed," said the World Bank.   "The poorest countries may not be well represented on the G20, but we cannot ignore the long-term costs of the global downturn on their people"s health and education," the report added.   NGO called on G20, which includes the world"s richest nations, as well China, Brazil and India, to meet the pledge leaders made at the London Summit last April to provide $50 billion to low-income countries (LICs) to help them cope with the effects of the crisis.   Development NGOs have insisted that new G20 aid to developing countries must be added to existing financing.   "It is crucial that this is additive and not deducted from current aid budgets," said Oxfam America President Ray Offenheiser.   The Bank and the NGOs are concerned that pressing concerns of the world"s 43 poorest countries, most of which are situated in sub-Saharan Africa, will not get the attention they need. South Africa is the G20"s only member from the region.   The new Bank report notes that the financial crisis has been the last in a series of three external shocks over which most poor countries, whose economic performance had improved over the previous decade, had little or no control.   Soaring food and fuel prices had already pushed 130 million to 155 million people in developing countries into absolute poverty by the end of 2008, according to the Bank.   "One of the reasons food security is so important is that food prices which went up in 2007 and 2008 have not come back down. People in developing countries are paying 30 percent more for food (than before prices dramatically shot up)," said Ritu Sharma, president of Women Thrive Worldwide, an NGO that advocates for economic policies to help women out of poverty.   "For many people in developing countries this means they are eating less than they were before," she added.   The financial crisis, sharply reduced demand for minerals, other commodity exports, and apparel-assembly industries on which many of the world"s poorest countries depend.   In Zambia, for example, the decline in copper prices led to the unemployment of one quarter of the country"s miners.   Recessions in wealthy countries also reduced the amount of remittances that immigrants were sending home to their families. Tourism has also been hard hit.   To cope with the crisis, the G20 agreed to provide $750 billion to the IMF, most of which, however, was directed at middle-income countries.   However, the World Bank report says that the poorest countries still face serious financing shortfalls in all of these areas, amounting to at least $11.6 billion.   "Unless these shortfalls are covered, achievements to date in reducing poverty and establishing the foundations for longer-term development will be eroded," the report concluded.   In particular, the Bank report called on the G20 to take coordinated action on several fronts. The group should endorse and reinforce the $20 billion pledge made by the Group of Eight (G-8) Summit in L"Aquila, Italy to enhance agricultural development in the poorest countries and scale up efforts to expand financing for SMEs as the most effective means for increasing employment.   "President Obama made a commitment to food security and agriculture at the G8," said Sharma. "We want to make sure that these new investments in agriculture are really reaching the poorest of the poor. We don"t want to see these large commitments going to large-scale agribusiness that turns small farmers into migrant workers."   The report also calls for the creation of a permanent global "Crisis Response Facility" (CRF) with the authority to provide quick aid to low-income countries that suffer severe shocks such as the food, fuel and financial crises, and which are not of their own making.   "At present there is a gap in the global aid architecture in the provision of timely and flexible support following crises," the report noted. Visit the related web page
	Political will needed to tackle food crisis by Olivier De Schutter UN Special Rapporteur on the right to food   18 September 2009   "Political will needed to tackle food crisis and restructure agriculture," warns UN right to food expert.   The United Nations Special Rapporteur on the right to food, Mr. Olivier De Schutter, argued that "there has not been enough structural change in response to the world food crisis," as he presented his second report on the emergency to the UN Human Rights Council.   Greater emphasis on right to food   "The right to food is not the right to be fed. It is the right to access the means to produce food or to obtain an income that enables the purchase of adequate food" said Mr De Schutter.   "The international legal framework on the right to food provides operational tools and mechanisms to ensure that public policies are geared towards alleviating hunger and malnutrition and towards building the resilience of the most vulnerable groups against risks, shocks and policy changes."   "That is different and more effective than the outdated and misplaced emphasis on increasing food production", said the Special Rapporteur. "As in the case of the financial system, it is the responsibility of policy makers to take the decisions needed to ensure real change. Political will is needed to tackle the structural flaws in the global food system".   From Geneva to the G20 in Pittsburgh   At a press conference after his appearance before the Council, De Schutter called for the G20 meeting that will take place in Pittsburgh next week to follow up on the commitment to invest $20 billion in agriculture in poor countries. "G20 leaders must agree on a more ambitious policy agenda. For one billion hungry persons to escape poverty, the initiative announced at L''Aquila can only be a first step. It cannot be the last", warned De Schutter.   Despite some progress, the Special Rapporteur remains critical of insufficient international cooperation to address the root causes of hunger, including instability in international agricultural markets. "Nothing has been done to prevent renewed food price increases, while experts warn that climate change will result in more frequent and extreme volatility in international food markets".   De Schutter, who started his UN mandate in May 2008 – as food prices peaked - added that "increased investment in agriculture will not benefit small farmers without action to reduce market instability and create an enabling environment". He emphasized that "small farmers need access to land, credit, storage facilities, research and extension services, and communications as well as support to cooperatives".   The Way Forward   De Schutter emphasizes in his report to the Council the need for action in five areas in order to prevent hunger and ensure enjoyment of the right to food:   1) Reducing volatility in international agricultural markets. "There is a clear need to improve the management of grain stocks at global level, to limit speculation".   2) Encouraging States to build social protection schemes. "A global reinsurance mechanism would create an incentive for robust social protection programmes."   3) Scaling up sustainable agriculture. "Agro-ecological farming has demonstrated its potential, especially in the difficult environments where vulnerable groups live. We can shape food systems that are productive, create jobs and are environmentally friendly."   4) Protecting agricultural worker rights. "Farm workers must earn a living wage to get access to food; those working in agriculture are a large part of the hungry."   5) Reforming global governance for food and agriculture.   "We need to set time-bound targets to reduce hunger. A reformed Committee on World Food Security should provide adequate monitoring and guidance to improve international coordination."   The food crisis is far from over. The FAO has confirmed that the total number of food insecure people is now above one billion people. Food prices on local markets remained higher in May 2009 than in May 2008 in more than forty developing countries, despite the price decreases on international markets.   * A summary of the report on the global food crisis in a PDF format can be viewed via the link below. Visit the related web page
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