UN to employ local successes in fight against global hunger

China’s accomplishments in securing food safety, nutrition and poverty alleviation for its population area crucial part of a new five-year strategic plan launched by the United Nations World Food Programme in Beijing on Tuesday.

Working with the Chinese Ministry of Agriculture, the WFP aims to use the plan as a step toward building a world without hunger by 2030. It enables WFP to learn from China’s expertise and experience to foster a new generation of farm leaders who can provide practical, on site demonstrations.

The program, for example, would enable such young African leaders in agriculture to come to China and observe, then receive seed money to implement innovative solutions and demonstrate practices to their peers back in their home countries.

“China’s accomplishments provide inspiration for countries that are still struggling to achieve food security, access to food and nutrition,” said Stanlake Samkange, director of the Policy and Programmes Division at WFP.

Also, WFP will work with China’s government in extending national nutrition programs in China to meet the target of reducing the malnutrition rate among children under five to less than 7 percent by 2020.

“I was once an athlete and know the importance of balanced nutrition,” said Li Ning, the former Olympic gold medal gymnast and now WFP ambassador, who spoke at the launch ceremony on Tuesday. “It’s my honor to help people in need.”

Sui Pengfei, director general of the Department of International Cooperation at the Ministry of Agriculture, said that implementation of the plan will not only help people in poor areas and solve the nutrition issues of left-behind children in China, but also have a positive effect for other countries on other ways.

“China has transformed itself over the past three decades, reducing hunger and improving the livelihoods of millions of people,” said Qu Sixi, China representative at the UN agency. “WFP could help the Chinese people and share China’s rich experiences in an innovative manner.”

The five-year plan comes after extensive consultation. It reflects a WFP-China agreement signed in 2016 to boost the partnership for global hunger solutions.

The plan also provides a framework for creating partnerships across all public and private sectors vital to translate global aims into local actions.

China’s accomplishments provide inspiration for countries that are still struggling to achieve food security.” Stanlake Samkange, policy and programs director at the UN’s World Food Programme