HIGH LEVEL MEETING ON ENDING HUNGER IN AFRICA

JOINT PRESS CONFERENCE
At the African Union Head Quarters, June 24 2013 at 2:00pm

From 30th June to 1st July, African and international leaders as well as other key stakeholders in the food security sector will meet at the African Union headquarters with a focus on renewing partnership for a unified approach to end hunger in Africa.

The High Level Meeting on Renewed Partnership for a Unified Approach to End Hunger in Africa is jointly convened by the African Union, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the Lula Institute. The meeting will commit to a set of principles, policies and strategies to resolve the problem of hunger by 2025, which will feed into the national and regional Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Programme (CAADP) Agriculture and Food Security Investment Plans.

The meeting will also brainstorm ways to support African countries, their governments and organized civil society to incorporate successful experiences from other countries.

It is expected that a declaration expressing political commitment to promote and unify African and international efforts: to fight hunger; to share technology; to boost the resilience of rural communities; to build or rebuild rural livelihoods; and assure food security for urban populations will be passed. Identification of immediate joint action to be taken in a specific place in Africa, to showcase the potential of this coordinated initiative will also be declared.

To this end, the African Union Comission, FAO and Lula Institute have jointly organized a Pre-High Level Meeting Press Conference to inform the expected outcomes and the importance of the meeting to African Citizens and international audience.

The press conference will be held at the presence of:

1. State Minister of Agriculture of the FDRE H.E. Wondirad Mandefro
2. H.E Mrs. Rhoda Peace Tumusiime, Commissioner for Rural Economy and Agriculture, AU Commission
3. Dr. Modibo Traore, Subregional Coordinator for Eastern Africa and Representative to the African Union, Economic Comisission for Africa and Ethiopia.

Journalists are invited to cover the event at 14:00 on June 24 at the African Union headquarters in briefing room 1.

More information about the meeting can be obtained from http://pages.au.int/endhunger.

MEDIA CONTACTS:

African Union Commission
Mrs Wynne Musabayana
Deputy Head of Communication and Information
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
Tel: +251115182555
MusabayanaW@africa-union.org
Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO)

Mr. Mehdi Drissi
Chief: Media Relations Branch
Office for Communication, Partnerships and Advocacy (OCP), Roma, Italia
Tel: +39 06 570 56479/ Cell: +39 346 988 3190
Email:Mehdi.drissi@fao.org