The International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement, which includes the IFRC, the ICRC and the 186 Red Cross and Red Crescent National Societies, shares with the Rome based UN Agencies and with the broader humanitarian community the same concerns over the living conditions of more than 850 million people in the world suffering from food shortages.

Our Movement is guided at all times by our 7 Fundamental Principles of humanity, impartiality, neutrality, independence, voluntary service, unity and universality.

Food Security

According to the IFRC Strategy 2010, we as the International Federation and National Societies strive, through voluntary action, for a world of empowered communities, better able to address human suffering and crises with hope, respect for dignity and a concern for equity.

Our mission is to improve the lives of vulnerable people by mobilizing the Power of Humanity, which is not just a slogan, but is the power of our 100 million volunteers who - in their communities - live, work, suffer, assist others in need.

The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, that I have today the honour to represent, was created in 1919 in order to assist the most vulnerable ones by spreading the light of science and the warmth of human sympathy.

Ever since, it has been responding to all major crises, becoming the world’s largest humanitarian and disaster response network.

Before the Millennium Declaration, food insecurity was already a deep concern for the IFRC.

In September 2000, all our National Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies in Africa at their 5th Pan African Conference in Ouagadougou adopted a declaration addressing food insecurity as a strategic priority.

This year, in April, the IFRC launched a Five-year strategic framework on food security for Africa targeting communities vulnerable to disasters and/or affected by HIV and AIDS.

This initiative targets 15 priority African National Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies and aims to reduce the vulnerability of African communities through longer-term support to livelihoods and food security.

The purpose is to scale-up the IFRC’s efforts in national food security programmes to provide at least 20 per cent of the most vulnerable populations with longer term food security support, to enhance their resilience.

The interventions are evidence-based and driven by good practice. For example, the localised, pragmatic approach of the strategy has successfully supported the Red Cross and other partners in Lesotho to help vulnerable communities to establish “key hole” gardens.

Despite their small size, the gardens are productive, yielding substantial amounts of vegetables year round, regardless of rainfall patterns. Their ease of use and nutritional value make them perfect for particularly vulnerable families.

Mr Chairman, in line with our Global Agenda Goal number 3, which is to increase local community, civil society and Red Cross capacity to address the most urgent situations of vulnerability, programmes are being developed with the full consultation and participation of vulnerable communities, in order to ensure that programmes build on the existing assets, capabilities and priorities of the communities and are owned by them.

Strengthening communities’ resilience is also at the heart of our work in disaster risk reduction and we play a major role in the Global Alliance for Disaster Risk Reduction.

It is for this reason that I personally and the IFRC as a whole strongly welcomes yesterday’s initiative in which the FAO, the WFP and the IFAD signed an MoU with the Alliance for the Green Revolution in Africa, represented by Mr. Kofi Annan, aimed at strengthening the role of small farmers as a way to provide sustainable development to their communities.

This agreement is an important milestone in the way major global agencies work with and assist smallholder farmers in solving Africa’s chronic hunger and food problems.

In our view, this transformation of doing is in line with IFRC priorities. The IFRC strongly believes that the development of Africa needs to start with a stocking-up of human capital, for this is how development can be truly sustainable.

Capacity Building

In this way, an important component of the IFRC Five year strategy is to increase the capacities, skills and resources of the National Societies to have a demonstrated impact on chronic food insecurity using an integrated approach.

The current situation around high global food prices emphasises the need for both short- and long term actions.

Our Red Cross Red Crescent will continue to address the immediate needs of those in food crisis through our humanitarian work, which is guided by our Fundamental Principles.

There will be a need to seek a balance between food distribution and other programmes addressing the underlying causes of food insecurity, recognizing that finding solutions to the emerging food gaps and to corresponding vulnerabilities may not be limited to food assistance only.

We therefore hope that this debate will impress on all concerned, including donors, the need to contribute resources and support to solutions beyond simple food assistance, and to prioritise local ownership of sustainable programs.

Let me conclude with a special appreciation for the reference to the Red Cross and Red Crescent work made by UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon, one of the many leaders I have had the privilege to meet.

The Secretary General is himself a former Youth member of our Movement, and has a deep commitment to inspiring further cooperation between our Movement and the UN System, in favour of the most vulnerable people and communities.