The global Week of Action on Food includes the International Day for Disaster Reduction (13 October), the International Day of Rural Women (15 October); World Food Day (16 October) as well the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty (17 October).
The theme for World Food Day this year emphasizes the direct connection between hunger, poverty, the effects of climate change and migration: “Change the future of migration by investing in food security and rural development”. “Home safe Home”, the slogan for International Day for Disaster Reduction, follows a year in which the IDMC recordeded 24.2 million new displacements as a result of disasters.
Rural women make up more than a quarter of the world population and women are 43 per cent of the global agricultural labour force. The theme of the International Day of Rural Women emhasises the “Challenges and opportunities in climate-resilient agriculture for gender equality and the empowerment of rural women and girls”.The focus for the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty, “Answering the Call of October 17 to end poverty: A path toward peaceful and inclusive societies”, challenges us all to find ways to include the marginalized members of the human family for the benefit of all.
Ten Actions We Can Take with Food:
Ten Commandments of Food (filetype size)
We are challenged to end poverty, tackle climate change and reduce inequality:
‘The relationship between hunger and migration can only be tackled if we go to the root of the problem. In this regard, studies conducted by the United Nations, as well as many other civil society organizations, agree that there are two main obstacles to overcome: conflicts and climate change.’
– Pope Francis, Address to Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) headquarters in Rome, to mark World Food Day 2017
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