Speech: Zero Hunger We have a challenge, to reach Zero hunger by 20 30? It’s a real challenge. It’s really audacious, but how do we get this done? Ladies and gentlemen, I think this is a real important topic and I want to add my voice to this humanitarian challenge. In our world of plenty, there are many people dealing with obesity, while in another part of the planet there are 800 million people who are going hungry. In a world of such advances and such consumption, these should be startling facts. Unfortunately the rise in hunger continues but we have the resources to stop this scandal. And one of these resources is technology. You will ask me: How can new technologies help end world hunger? By technology, we not only mean electronic technology. But food technology and education technology First of all, electronic technology is not only useful to use at work or to play games at home. One would believe that applications are only useful to entertain yourself, but there are some applications that can be used to help people from the comfort of your home. Many people believe that they cannot do anything to help people who are in faraway continents and who are suffering from hunger and malnutrition, but there is one application called “the share the meal application”, which was launched by WFP that means WORLD FOOD PROGRAMME, in November 2018 that can support millions of children and families in the most critical hunger hotspots. With just the tap of a button in your mobile phone, anyone with a desire to help can share a meal. Since the launch of this application, more than 3 million meals have been shared trough WFP’s first mobile application to support Syrian refugees living in Jordan. This application could also be used to support people in critical conditions, in all the five continents. How does the Share The Meal app work? Share The Meal raises funds to feed people and help build a world with zero hunger. Users can give US$ 0.50 (or more) with a tap in our smartphone app, feeding one hungry child for a day. We call this "to share the meal". The United Nations World Food Programme receives the funds and provides the meals. In the app we show users where their meals will go. The starting point for Share The Meal is that it is very inexpensive to feed one child a day. We believe even more people would be willing to help if there was a simple and straightforward way of doing so. This is where the Share The Meal application comes in. Cash transfers or vouchers are used to tackle hunger in situations where there is plenty of food in the marketplace but where poor people cannot afford to buy it. For example in Lebanon, Syrian refugee families receive electronic vouchers or “e-cards” that can be exchanged for food of their choice in local shops. This boosts the local economy and provides Syrians with access to fresh produce, dairy products, poultry and meats. In emergencies, WFP often distributes food rations containing staple foods such as rice, bulgur wheat, pasta, lentils, canned food, sugar, salt, cooking oil and wheat flour. In more stable situations, WFP often provides school meals. Children are provided with breakfast, lunch or both while in school and may additionally receive take-home rations. For many of the children, these are the only or most nutritious meals they will have in one day. Second of all, technologies not only applies to electronic devices, but also to food. So technology again can give us a hand. Nutrition science has developed an incredible amount of foods that are easy to eat and at the same time they are very nutritious. These technologies are applied to feed the millions of hungry people who are in emergency situations. An excellent example of this is ‘Plumpy Sup’ which is one type of ready to use food , typically used in extreme situations and to prevent and treat moderate malnutrition for children under five years old. It’s a tech innovation in nutrition science that infuses a peanut paste with a long list of micronutrients that can be consumed from the comforts of one’s home. Plumpy’Sup is packaged in one-day sachets, are ready to eat, and can be consumed in small quantities to supplement one’s regular diet. In areas without electricity or clean water, Ready to eat foods like Plumpy’Sup give hungry families better options to fight hunger and malnutrition. Also the WFP has food baskets suitable for the different emergencies. The size and composition of the food basket is tailored to local preferences, demographic profile, activity levels, climatic conditions, local coping capacity and existing levels of malnutrition and disease. It is designed to meet the nutritional requirements of a population rather than individuals. Finally, technology can help us to educate people around the globe. Thanks to digital education, farmers living in places can be reached and taught how they can implement technologies to increase their production. This farmers can be reached by the creation of an agricultural hotline and a digital soil information system. The hotline, created in 2014 by Ethiopia’s Agricultural Transformation Agency, has received nearly 6.5 million calls from local farmers. Through text messages and automated calls, roughly 500,000 users receive updated agronomic information to their cell phones to help plan their operations. The same agency has plans to integrate this system with the Ethiopian Soil Information System, a digital soil map “analysing the country’s soils down to a resolution of ten kilometres by ten kilometres.” Have you ever searched YouTube to find the right video to learn a new skill? Well, Digital Green is an organization that connects local farmers via video training, conducted in local languages. So via you tube, Digital Green explores topics that go from crop rotation to good water managements. These videos help small farmers improve their crop quality and boost agricultural production through better financial training, tools and assistance. WFP then purchases these surplus crops to source feeding programs in nearby communities, thus providing a stable market and tackling local hunger at the same time. So, we have all the resources. What is missing are the actions. So we need to work together to put them in action now, so that we can achieve the challenge of Zero Hunger for 2030. It depends on each and every of you. I dare you to start right now. So get your mobile phones and download the application of “Share the Meal” and start helping now. You can also help by demanding action from the government. They could help with funds to provide Plumpy Sup wherever it is necessary. Don’t put your arms down. If everybody cooperates, we will be able to meet our objectives and we will all be able to live in symphony and to enjoy the plenty that our planet offers us. Let’s take the challenge, let’s take it all together right now!
