African and internationl leaders are meeting in Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa to draft a policy targeted at ending hunger on the continent  under the auspices of the African Union Commission (AUC), the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) and the Lula Institute. The three-day meeting, which is underway, seeks to design strategies and prescriptions for all African countries to address hunger, malnutrition and food insecurity on the African continent. The Director-General of FAO, Jose Graziano da Silva, said confronting hunger will not only be based on increasing food production on the continent rather, the need for concerted efforts and collective approach by all stakeholders to fight the menace. The decision to end hunger needs to be taken by society as a whole,” he said. He said the UN system, other international and regional organisations, including the AU and others in Africa, academia, the private sector, producers’ organisations, social movements, civil society organisations, private sector entities, research and academic institutions; and many other partners must bring their expertise to bear to promote food security on the continent. Agricultural sectorGraziano da Silva challenged participants, particularly political leaders, to take steps by directing their efforts toward helping transform the agricultural sector and to ensure a food-secure African continent. He stressed the need for coordinated efforts by African countries to realise the dream of eradicating hunger entirely from the continent by 2025, a move he disclosed was the secret to the Brazilian success story. "This is what motivated the AUC, FAO and the former president of Brazil Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva to join forces and establish this partnership,” Graziano da Silva said. He added that his outfit will support countries working within the framework of the Comprehensive African Agricultural Development Plan (CAADP). Rwanda is among the eight countries identified by FAO as being on track to meeting the MDG 1 hunger target for halving the proportion of hungry people well before the 2015 deadline established by the Millennium Development Goals. Others are the Bahamas, Chad, China, Ethiopia, Gabon, Solomon Islands and Vanuatu. At least 11 African countries have met the internationally-agreed targets for halving the proportion of hungry people well before the 2015 deadline established by the Millennium Development Goals.  240 million malnourishedThe Director for Department of Rural Economy and Agriculture of AUC, Dr Gabriel Haile Abebe, said evidence suggest that about 240 million people in Africa are undernourished. He said 40 per cent of that population are children under five years of age noting that the phenomenon may lead to "irreversible mental and physical disability " of the children. Dr Abebe expressed concern about the increasing number of hungry people on the continent, even though the continent has improved economically. He called for innovative ways by leaders to confront the hunger situation in Africa and commit adequate resources to eradicate poverty on the entire continent by 2025. The meeting will run under the theme, "Renewed Partnership for Unified Approach to End Hunger in Africa by 2025 within the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme framework.”