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Countdown to World Food Day and TeleFood '98 heads into the home stretch
Three, two, one ... the countdown to World Food Day celebrations and the second annual TeleFood global telecast is now heading into the home stretch. Only two weeks remain until the start of a flurry of events organized over three days to raise global awareness of the hunger facing more than 800 million people around the world each and every day. This year's World Food Day /TeleFood theme "Women feed the world" will put the spotlight on the vital, yet too often invisible, role women play in providing food for their families and communities. "The battle for food security can be won only if the invaluable contribution made by women is recognized, and if the social, political and economic context empowers them to develop their potential as farmers, actors of development and human beings," said FAO Director-General Jacques Diouf. Despite the fact that women produce more than half of all food produced in the world - up to 90 percent in some regions - obstacles such as limited access to credit and laws and traditions that prevent them from owning the land they cultivate continue to hinder their advancement. World Food Day, observed each 16 October on the anniversary of the founding of FAO, is celebrated in over 150 countries around the world. Italy's Prime Minister Romano Prodi will deliver the keynote speech at the Organization's headquarters in Rome on 16 October, the anniversary of the 1945 meeting at the Chateau Frontenac in Quebec, Canada, at which FAO was formed. Kofi Annan, the UN Secretary-General, is scheduled to speak at the World Food Day ceremony in New York on 20 October.
TeleFood is a televised event dedicated to raising public awareness of global hunger as well as funds to underwrite grassroot projects that will help some of the world's poorest farmers escape poverty and hunger. The campaign was first launched in 1997 under the intitative of Director-General Diouf. Many world-renowned celebrities from the worlds of film, literature, and sport, among others, have already pledged their support to this year's TeleFood. Over 300 personalities have lent their voices to the call to end world hunger. And others, such as actress Sophia Loren, top tennis players Michael Chang and Carlos Moya, and singer Miriam Makeba, have recorded messages of solidarity with the 800 million people who face chronic hunger. In 1997 the public donated over US$2 million to TeleFood to help bring an end to world hunger. So far, more than 150 TeleFood-funded projects have been approved in Africa, Asia, Eastern Europe and Latin America and many more are currently being considered for approval. Videos showing how the money is being spent will be an important feature of TeleFood '98 broadcasts. 2 October 1998 Related links:
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