Over One Billion People Go Hungry

Mr. Alhagie Kebbah, the Director of the National Youth Association for Food Security (NAYAFS) has stated that over a billion people go to bed hungry every day, because of the world food crisis.

Mr. Kebbeh made this revelation at the opening of a three-day training workshop on the rights to food, on Monday 1st June 2009, at Jarra Jenoi in the Lower River Region.

"Due to the world food crisis, the latest FAO reports indicated that over one billion people go to bed hungry every day," he stated.

"This may seem to be difficult and confusing to some people, due to the fact that there is some little food available to them. But this is a reality and have some scientific and expert proofs," he said.

According to him, it is fundamental human rights for every person to have a right to food, as stated in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

"The FAO recommends the rights to food by all and it is stated in the Universal Declaration of 1945 that every person has a right to food and equally stated in the Gambian Constitution that every person has a right to food, as it is a fundamental human rights and must be provided to all," he stated.

Mr. Kebbeh opined that, "food being a basic need and a fundamental human rights should not be used in conditioning people for the attainment of any political or economic philosophy".  

He added that preventing people from the rights to food could be in many ways like depriving people from farmland, farming materials and to make a choice of food.

Mr. Kebbeh called on the government to do everything humanly possible to support farmers in attaining food- sufficiency.

For her part, Mrs. Mariatou Jallow, the FAO Assistant Representative, said that FAO believes that global partnership is the major solution to food securities. She said FAO advocates that the challenges for food security for all can only be resolved through global partnership involving national, international, public, private and voluntary sectors.

Other speakers included Mr. Njaga Jawo, Executive Director of the National Women Farmers Association (NAWFA).