Post date: Jun 08, 2013 1:53:53 PM
British Prime Minister David Cameron says the world must do more to tackle hunger, as he addresses an international conference on nutrition in London.
LONDON, ENGLAND, UNITED KINGDOM (JUNE 8, 2013) (POOL) - British Prime Minister David Cameron called for more funds on Saturday (June 8) to help tackle hunger and malnutrition in the world.
Addressing an international conference on malnutrition, Cameron drew attention to the scale of the challenge."There are still one billion people in our world going hungry. One in four children are stunted through chronic malnutrition.
And 165 million children so malnourished that by the age of two, their minds and bodies will never fully develop. This is a massive issue for humanity," Cameron told the gathering.
The prime minister sought to convince people about the benefits of aid.
"Look at the progress that economic growth and smart aid have brought about. We have seen the fastest reduction in poverty in human history. The number of people living on less than a $1.25 a day is down by half a billion. Child death rates are down by half. Deaths from malaria down by a third. A quarter of a billion children protected by disease through our vaccination programmes with four million lives saved," Cameron said.
Cameron commended British people for contributing to various appeals for funds during disasters.
"We are the kind of people who believe in doing what is right. We accept the moral case for keeping our promises to the world's poorest people even when we face challenges at home. When people are dying, we don't believe in finding excuses," he said.
The prime minister said British people contributing their money generously for good causes "made him proud to be British".
The British and Brazilian governments hosted the Nutrition for Growth event one week ahead of the G-8 leaders summit.
The European Union has already pledged 3.5 billion euros ($4.6 billion) over the next seven years to help combat malnutrition in the developing world, the largest such EU donation to deal with nutrition.
A study released in British journal the Lancet on Thursday (June 6) cited new evidence that 45 percent of all deaths of children under 5 years of age are caused by malnutrition.