Angola announces it will contribute to African-led food security fund
30 January 2013, Luanda - The Republic of Angola will contribute to the Africa Solidarity Trust Fund designed to boost efforts to eradicate hunger in the region, President José Eduardo Dos Santos announced today.
"Angola cannot be absent from the fight against hunger," said President Dos Santos during a meeting in Luanda with the Director-General of the UN Food and Agriculture Organization, José Graziano da Silva.
"This pledge underscores the growing commitment of Angola, and African countries as a whole, to lead the efforts eradicate hunger in Africa and to contribute to a zero-hunger world for all," said Graziano da Silva.
The Africa Solidarity Trust Fund, which is administered and facilitated by FAO, was created at the initiative of FAO's Regional Conference for Africa in April 2012. It will support activities to enhance the capacity of governments and regional organizations to eradicate hunger, food insecurity and malnutrition in the framework of the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP).
Besides Angola, Equatorial Guinea has already pledged $30 million to the fund. Other African governments have also manifested interest in contributing.
Strengthening food security in Angola
In his first mission to Angola, the FAO Director-General congratulated President Dos Santos for the country's success in the fight against hunger. Between 1990-92 and 2010-12 the prevalence of undernourishment in the population fell from 64 percent to 27 percent, going beyond the Millennium Development Goal of halving the proportion of hunger by 2015.
FAO supports Angola in this process and currently executes investments of approximately US$ 20 million in agricultural development and food security in the country. Over the next few years, FAO will focus its efforts in Angola in three priority areas: strengthening smallholder production and productivity to improve food security and nutrition; strengthening sustainable management of natural resources; and building resilience.
During his mission to Angola, Graziano da Silva is also meeting the Ministers of Agriculture, Foreign Relations, Fisheries, Environment and Commerce as well as representatives from the private sector, civil society and the international community based in Luanda.
