Foreign Minister takes initiative at meeting with UN Secretary-General

Vienna, 25 April 2008 - "Food prices have risen worldwide by about 40 per cent. In East Africa some 14 million people are threatened by drought and hunger. The appalling pictures of the rebellions bred by hunger in Haiti and Burkina Faso should be a wake-up call for all of us. The time has come for us to become active and provide concrete help for those affected by the food crisis. In the 21st century nobody ought to have to suffer from hunger any more!", asserted Foreign Minister Ursula Plassnik on the margins of today’s meeting with UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon. "This situation calls not only for the UN’s global umbrella but also for swift measures by individual states," emphasised Plassnik.

"I have therefore sent out a clear signal on behalf of the Foreign Ministry. Within the framework of its development cooperation programme, Austria is providing 1 million euros in aid for the four countries most severely affected: Namibia, Haiti, Burkina Faso and Ethiopia," announced the Minister. "The aid will be delivered in cooperation with experienced NGOs and international partners," she added.

Of these funds, 250,000 euros will be used for aid projects under the UN’s World Food Programme for particularly vulnerable population groups such as children, pregnant women and young mothers as well as sick people in Haiti, while 100,000 euros will go to a Red Cross project for supplies of food, water and medical aid to Namibia’s needy population. Another 100,000 euros will be earmarked for a UNICEF project designed to provide an emergency water supply to the nomadic population in Ethiopia’s Somali region, which is currently being affected by a major drought catastrophe following a lack of rainfall. Austria will provide an additional 550,000 euros in aid for bilateral projects such as food and water supply and the securing of livestock farming in Ethiopia and Burkina Faso. In this field Austria has already gathered experience and established close contacts with local decision-makers and NGOs, which will facilitate the swift and efficient implementation of aid projects. As a result, the Austrian Development Agency will shortly issue a call for the submission of suitable projects.

"The principles of food security are that it must be long-term and sustainable. The objective is to ensure that the population learns how to produce its own food independently. What we want to do primarily is help people help themselves. Emergency aid will always remain a stop-gap solution," affirmed the Foreign Minister. In its programmes for rural development, Austrian Development Cooperation therefore relies on coordinated measures such as improved seeds, the application of specially adapted technologies and efficient use of cultivated areas, while resources have to be used economically. The establishment of farmers’ organisations is being supported in Ethiopia, Nicaragua, and other priority countries. One of the objectives, for example, is to promote the marketing of products by strengthening the position of small farmers.

"The current hunger rebellions have been triggered not only by food shortages but also by unjust social structures which are the reason why poor people can no longer afford to buy food. To reduce global inequality it is therefore necessary to become active at the political level as well. In addition to better agricultural management, good governance, democracy and the rule of law are the basic requirements. It is in these areas in particular that the UN and the EU must collaborate closely" concluded Plassnik.

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