FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Food Summit plan offers too little consolation to people living in poverty

June 9th, 2008:  The 183 countries attending last week’s FAO Food Summit in Rome concluded with an action plan that doesn't bind governments, doesn't involve women in the solutions and pushes for trade liberalization that risks just harming hungry families even further.

Governments and financial institutions between them pledged about $8 billion to address the food crisis and came up with plans for focusing on food production in the South but were not specific on the delivery. Social movements NGOs and even the Director General of FAO had asked for a $15 billion emergency fund, and a further $15 million investment in small and middle-sized agricultural enterprise - with women as active agents in the planning.

“While promises of funds to help alleviate the immediate sufferance are welcome, the lack of a time-frame for delivery is worrying as the urgent need is now, not in 6 months time.” said Christophe Zoungrana, GCAP Africa Coordinator.

Leaders also expressed support for agricultural production and trade through further liberalisation and reduced trade barriers.  GCAP has called for trade justice not liberalisation for the past three years, so that farmers in developing countries are offered just conditions to produce and trade without risk of dumping and are not tied with conditions imposed by the EU, US or other rich countries.

 “I cannot believe that the Summit declaration remains so loose. It is not hearing the 350,000 people whose demands I personally handed over to Ban ki Moon by petition on Wednesday.” said Sylvia Borren, Co-Chair of GCAP. “The outcome is no solution at all to the women struggling to feed their families in countries across the developing world but not in any way involved in the solutions to this as primary food producers.” She added that it is shocking that thirty times the money needed for the food crisis has been found in the last six months to stabilise financial markets. The reality should be lives before profit, not as it is now: the other way around.

While finding agreement on biofuel production remained more elusive, there was agreement only that biofuel brings both "challenges and opportunities" to poor countries, and that these need to be investigated further.  This is welcome to GCAP, which had called for a re-think of this energy push.

BEYOND ROME

July’s Japan’s G8 Summit is another crucial opportunity for leaders of the richest countries in the world to bring forward concrete actions on aid, trade, debt, climate change and health spending that will change the lives of people living in poverty this year. GCAP is calling on people to demand the G8 leaders take action by joining our Tanabata appeal at http://www.whiteband.org/actionnow.  Similarly, the upcoming UN MDG summit September will be watched closely by civil society keen to see real progress on the Millennium Development Goals.  Have your voice heard!

To book interviews or for more information contact:
Ciara O’Sullivan, GCAP Media, cel + 34 679 594 809 ciara.osullivan@civicus.org

Notes to Editors:
The Global Call to Action against Poverty (GCAP) is the world’s largest civil society alliance of social movements, International NGOs, trade unions, community groups, women’s organizations, faith and youth groups, local associations and campaigners working together across more than 100 national coalitions/platforms.   GCAP is calling for action from the world’s leaders to meet their promises to end poverty and inequality. In particular, GCAP demands solutions that address the issues of; public accountability, just governance and the fulfillment of human rights; trade justice; more and better aid; debt cancellation and gender equality and women’s rights.

###