{"id":31760,"date":"2011-11-01T17:08:59","date_gmt":"2011-11-01T17:08:59","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.sierraexpressmedia.com\/?p=31760"},"modified":"2011-11-01T17:08:59","modified_gmt":"2011-11-01T17:08:59","slug":"food-and-nutrition-security-is-the-foundation-of-survival-and-health-jean-ping","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sierraexpressmedia.net\/?p=31760","title":{"rendered":"Food and Nutrition Security is the foundation of survival and health – Jean Ping"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u201c<\/strong>Food and Nutrition Security is the foundation of survival and health, it\u2019s implementation requires a multi-sectoral approach\u201d, says Chairperson of the AU- Mr. Jean Ping<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Addis Ababa, Ethiopia- 31 October 2011<\/strong> \u2013 Africa has the potential to feed itself, but after more than 50 years of independence, the continent still suffers from widespread malnutrition while spending millions of US dollars annually to import food from the global market. Yet the continent, unlike Asia, has immense land and water resources that could be utilized to boost food production. 240 million people in Africa are undernourished (consume less than the required recommended 2100kcal\/day); 5 million children die of malnutrition every year.\u00a0 This is equivalent to a child dying every 6 seconds.\u00a0 Malnutrition is the leading cause of death (35% of child deaths per year).\u00a0 Over 50 million African children suffer from chronic malnutrition which translates to about 40-60% of these children being stunted (low height for age).\u00a0 Over 40% of pregnant women are malnourished.<\/span><\/p>\n

This was the general message at the first anniversary of the African Food and Nutrition Security Day celebrations held at the Hilton Hotel, Addis Ababa, on October 31.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Agriculture Ministry of Ethiopia, representatives of the Government of Malawi, representatives from the EU, the Africa Rice Center, NGOs, CSOs, UN Agencies, AUC, NEPAD agency and representatives of the Member States of the AU today met to commemorate the 2nd annual Africa Food and Nutrition Security day in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. The theme for this year\u2019s celebrations is \u201cInvesting in intra-African trade for Food and Nutrition Security in Africa\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

The Africa Food and Nutrition Security Day was adopted during the 15th AU Summit in Kampala, Uganda and the first commemoration was held in Malawi in October 2010. This year\u2019s theme calls for:<\/span><\/p>\n