Major Hunger Conference hosted in Grand Hotel, Malahide

A major international conference on world hunger has been hosted at the Grand Hotel in Malahide.

The Dialogue on the UN’s Comprehensive Framework for Action took place at the Grand Hotel in Malahide, Co Dublin, on May 17 and 18. It was by invitation only and not open to the general public.

The conference, which attracted some 200 delegates, was hosted by the Minister of State for Overseas Development, Peter Power, Concern and the United Nations.

During his keynote address, Minister Power said that "since the launch of the report of the Hunger Task Force, Ireland has designated the fight against hunger as a cornerstone of our aid programme." Mr Power also said that he had committed to spending 20% of the entire Irish Aid budget on measures to reduce hunger and appointed a Special Envoy for Hunger.

Tom Arnold, Chief Executive of Concern said:

“I am pleased that the dialogue on how to reduce hunger is taking place in Ireland with civil society representatives from around the world.  Governments, civil society groups and the private sector must find new and better ways of working together if hunger is to be defeated.

I am particularly pleased that Irish Aid and Concern are combining with the UN to show leadership in sustaining momentum for policy change aimed at significantly reducing the number of hungry people in the world.”