Organizers: Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development - Permanent Mission of the Holy See to FAO, IFAD and WFP - Rome Forum of Catholic Inspired NGOs
Description
The global food production system is inadequate to meet the challenge of food and climate security in today's circumstances. According to the State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World (SOFI 2021) Report, by 2020, nearly one in three people did not have access to adequate food. That's 320 million more people, a staggering increase from 2019 due in part to the impact of the pandemic. These are figures that move us further away from achieving the Zero Hunger Goal of the 2030 Agenda.
The food crisis is linked to the climate collapse we are experiencing and makes us reflect on the need to dismantle and rethink the current system. In this context, the Pre-Summit and the UN Summit on Food Systems focused on the need to transform agrifood systems so that they become accelerators of progress to achieve the vision of the 2030 Agenda, to increase resilience in the context of the Covid-19 pandemic, to strengthen local value chains, to improve nutrition, to reuse and recycle food resources so that we can halve waste.
The Holy See has always been at the forefront of the right to food and food security. We cannot allow so many of our brothers and sisters to still go to bed hungry. Pope Francis, since the beginning of his Pontificate, has reiterated how the main issue consists in redesigning "an economy on a human scale, not only subject to profit, but anchored to the common good, friendly to ethics and respectful of the environment" (Message to the Minister of Climate and Environment of the Republic of Poland, on the occasion of the XLII session of the FAO Conference. June 14, 2021). There is a need, therefore, to reverse course and invest in a global food system that is able to cope with future crises.
Aware of the significance of the Pre-Summit and the Summit, we want to draw attention to the importance of regenerating current food systems so that they become more resilient, inclusive and sustainable, taking into account the needs of the world's growing population and the limits of the Planet. If we are to eradicate hunger and leave no one behind, it will be critical to multiply bold decisions, ensure a community of purpose and intensify international action towards strengthening food systems.
Technical information: You can register for the event through the following link: https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_nckVu_I6SI2n2wmuRw_nWQ
For questions or other information, please contact osserfao@mhsfao.va
Program
Moderator: Dr. Vincenzo Conso, Rome Forum Coordinator.
Greetings: Card. Peter K. A. Turkson, Prefect of the Dicastery for the Service of Integral Human Development.
Speakers:
1. Sister Alessandra Smerilli, Acting Secretary of the Dicastery for the Service of Integral Human Development
2. Dr. Maria Helena Semedo, FAO Assistant Director-General for Climate and Natural Resources
3. Dr. Javier Garat Pérez, Chairman of ICFA (International Coalition of Fisheries Associations)
4. Dr. Davide Raffa, Director of CELIM/FOCSIV
Debate
Conclusion: Mgr. Fernando Chica Arellano, Permanent Observer of the Holy See to FAO, IFAD & WFP.