AfDB, G8 discuss food security

The President of the African Development Bank (AfDB), Dr. Donald Kaberuka, will participate in an extraordinary meeting of the world’s richest nations to discuss the critical issue of food security in Africa.Kaberuka has been invited to the Group of Eight (G8) Summit at Camp David near Washington by U.S. President Barack Obama on Saturday. The invitation says the the session will focus on ways to “increase private sector investment in agriculture and scale innovation.”This, according to the bank, reflects the growing recognition on the world stage that Africa plays an increasingly important role in the global economy.It comes in the wake of growing calls for Africa to empower local communities to ensure food security and save a quarter of the continent’s population from hunger. The message is contained in the latest Africa Human Development Report 2012: Towards a Food Secure Future.It is a collaboration between the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) the Economic Commission for Africa and the AfDB, and states that action on agriculture alone will not be enough to eliminate hunger. It calls for new approaches to improve health services and agricultural infrastructure plus giving a greater voice to the poor through strengthened local governments and civil society groups.Saturday’s meeting will include leaders of the G8 nations, several African Heads of State, executives from multinational companies, African private sector leaders.Notably, it’s the first time that an AfDB chief has been invited to a residence of the U.S. President.During his visit to Washington, Dr Kaberuka will also participate in a symposium on food and nutrition security and attend a reception hosted by Hillary Clinton, the U.S. Secretary of State.The Africa Report, which is the first of its kind, states that, with more than one in four of its 856 million people undernourished, Sub-Saharan Africa remains the world’s most food-insecure region.However, the report rates Rwanda highly- being the first on the continent and second in the world in the development index in the last 10 years.Africa must develop new approaches to empower local communities to ensure food security, according to the UN Resident Coordinator for Rwanda, Opia Kumah.

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AfDB, G8 discuss food security