Johannesburg, South Africa (ADV) – The Pan-African Parliamentary Alliance for Food Security and Nutrition (PAPA-FSN) members recently met to discuss strengthening and consolidating capacities of parliamentarians to position food security and nutrition, as well as the right to adequate food, at the forefront of political and legislative agendas at both regional and national levels, African Daily Voice has learnt.
Held at the Pan-African Parliament (PAP) Headquarters in Midrand, the event was held under the theme “legislating for the right to adequate food; nutrition and sustainable food systems for healthy diets, gender and social policies, access to and control of productive resources, responsible investments in agriculture and food systems, budgeting to achieve zero hunger and partnering for resource mobilization.
According to the PAP website, the President of the Alliance, Stephen Julius MASELE mentioned that session was urgent, crucial and would pave way for efficient delivery of a model law that would ultimately be made to remedy the crisis.
“Approximately one person in four in Sub-Saharan Africa and one in five on the continent have suffered from chronic food deprivation in 2017,” he said.
“The overall situation of food security and nutrition (FSN) in Africa continues to worsen. We are consequently obliged to reflect and review policies and legislation with the aim to achieve zero hunger.”
Meanwhile, the Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO) applauded the working partnership with PAP and pledged more support to the activities of PAPA-FSN and national parliaments to reinforce the work of the recently formed Alliance that came as a response to a call to find innovative ways of managing the mounting food security challenge.
“If we are to meet the challenges of the Sustainable Development Goals and achieve zero hunger by 2030, cooperation among different actors is mandatory. With their legislative, budgetary and oversight roles, together with their influence on public opinion, parliamentarians have a fundamental role in ensuring that people are able to feed themselves in dignity,” said Francesco Pierri, FAO Representative in South Africa.
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