[Congressional Record Volume 148, Number 137 (Thursday, October 17, 2002)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1888]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                              WORLD HUNGER

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. BENJAMIN A. GILMAN

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, October 16, 2002

  Mr. GILMAN. Mr. Speaker, today is World Food Day. As Americans, we 
all enjoy one of the highest living standards in the world, and we 
derive much of our strength as a Nation based upon this fact. Yet in 
many areas of the world, poverty, and the resultant hunger, remains a 
serious problem that deserves our attention.
  According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United 
Nations, ``the Progress in reducing world hunger has virtually come to 
a halt . . . and unless trends are sharply reversed, the world will be 
very far from reaching the World Food Summit 1996 goal, to reduce the 
number of hungry by half by 2015.''
  It is imperative that we act to counter this trend. It is wrong for a 
child anywhere in the world to suffer the crippling effects of, or, as 
happens to close to 6 million children each year, who die from hunger. 
It is appalling that close to 800 million people are malnourished, and 
indeed many are on the verge of starvation. It is wrong for us to sit 
idly by and accept this as fact.
  We must also recognize that it is in our self interest to fight 
hunger. The plague of AIDS and other threats to health is not confined 
to international borders; it would be foolish and naive of us to think 
that we are immune to the effects of hunger. Furthermore, much of the 
political instability is rooted in poverty and hunger is rarely 
confined to any single nation.
  Every year national, regional and international World Food Day events 
are organized around the world. These activities, including those of 
the World Hunger Year, brings long overdue attention to the problems 
surrounding the international fight against hunger, and the practical 
solutions available to our winning the fight against hunger. This is a 
fight that can be won if we all work together.

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