|
Corporate Social Responsibility
News
10.31.2006 - 02:35pm ET
|
CSR News from:
|
|
|
News Category:
|
|
Oxfam Calls on President Bush to 'Skip a Meal'
International Agency Says the President Can Show That Americans Care Deeply About Chronic Hunger and Poverty
(CSRwire) Boston- Oxfam America is calling on US President George W. Bush to
"skip a meal" on the Thursday before Thanksgiving in a symbolic
demonstration to the world that America is a nation that cares deeply
about all who suffer from chronic hunger and poverty.
This call to action is part of an annual Oxfam tradition dating back to
1974 when 250,000 people across the nation responded to the organization's
call to participate in the first Fast for a World Harvest
activities by donating their food money to Oxfam's hunger and poverty
reduction programs.
"As Americans we share many traditions and among the most deeply rooted
are our traditions of compassion and caring," said Raymond C. Offenheiser,
president of Oxfam America, in announcing Oxfam's petition to Mr. Bush.
"When our President joins hundreds of thousands of other Americans in
skipping a meal the Thursday before Thanksgiving, we are letting the world
know that as a nation we are very concerned about the millions of our
fellow human beings who go to bed hungry each night."
At the World Food Summit a decade ago, the US and other governments signed
on to a plan of action to halve global hunger by 2015. Since then the
number of hungry people in the world has risen by 54 million and now
stands at 854 million. The failure of the international community to
tackle the global hunger crisis is evident in these grim statistics :
One person in seven on the planet goes to bed hungry, half of them
are children.
In sub-Saharan Africa the number of hungry people has increased by
some 20 per cent since 1996.
Over 200 million people in sub-Saharan Africa - more than a third of
the population - is hungry.
In Ethiopia 11-12 million people face hunger. The1984 Ethiopian food
crisis struck 5-7 million people.
The solution to global hunger includes strong economic growth, fair trade
and effective government, according to Oxfam. With three quarters of the
world's hungry living in rural areas, the agency believes that investment
in agriculture, rural infrastructure and employment generation are key to
addressing the global hunger crisis.
"Attention to the issue of world hunger is ever more important today and
should be treated as a matter of dire urgency by President Bush and other
world leaders. Oxfam is proud to continue engaging with the thousands who
maintain the Fast tradition by giving up a meal or organizing special
events to raise money for the agency," said Nancy Delaney, Oxfam America's
Fast and Outreach Manager. "To date, Fast organizers have raised more than
$10 million for our efforts to fight poverty and raise public awareness
about world hunger."
To find out what you can do and how you can participate in the Nov. 16
Fast activities visit us at
http://www.oxfamamerica.org/whatyoucando/act_now/fast
|
Independent Research Reports
To search for independent research reports from Innovest Startegic Value Advisors about the social, environmental and governance performance of this company and its industry, click here |
 |
|
|
|
|
