Zero Hunger, a cornerstone among the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), envisions a world where all individuals have access to sufficient, safe and nutritious food without compromising their well-being. Pakistan’s recent call at the United Nations to eradicate poverty and hunger is a commendable effort, emphasizing the need for international collaboration to combat inequalities and build inclusive societies.
Ambassador Munir Akram’s plea for implementing promises to eradicate poverty echoes the stark realities of a world still grappling with hunger and economic disparities. Despite progress over the decades, the CovidD-19 pandemic, climate change and conflicts have reversed gains, pushing over 150 million people into extreme poverty.
Addressing the Security Council, Ambassador Akram rightly highlighted the nexus between poverty, hunger and conflicts. The illegal exploitation of natural resources often fuels disputes, emphasizing the need for sustainable economic growth policies globally. The UN, in collaboration with nations, must ensure rapid and sustainable development, especially in crucial areas like health, education, nutrition and sanitation, enabling the poor to actively contribute to growth.
Growing poverty and hunger and the illegal exploitation of natural resources are the principal causes of many of conflicts and disputes among and within states, such as in the Sahel and other parts of Africa, emphasizes Mr Akram.
Moreover, the link between climate change and resource scarcity cannot be ignored. As conflicts escalate over dwindling resources, the UN’s role in fostering responsible resource management is pivotal. Rural communities, heavily reliant on agriculture and natural resources, must be empowered to manage their resources efficiently.
Those promises must be implemented to expand concessional and grant development finance, re-channel the unused special drawing rights (SDRs), provide urgent debt relief and meet climate commitments, among others.
In view of the resource-crunch, climate change is visibly and significantly exacerbating the scramble for scarce resources, particularly water and this could lead to the proliferation of conflicts.
In essence, the global community must unite in implementing UN programs that foster sustainable economic growth, poverty reduction and hunger eradication. The call for expanded concessional finance, re-channeling unused special drawing rights and fulfilling climate commitments is a step toward realizing the Charter’s vision of prosperity for all. It’s time for nations to collaborate, ensuring that no one is left behind in the pursuit of a hunger-free world.
