U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki Moon said Monday that he will convene his first food crisis task force meeting on May 12.

"I am going to have a first Task Force (meeting) on Monday next week," Ban told reporters upon his return from a two-week trip to Africa and Europe where he addressed the issue on numerous occasions.

Explaining that he had described "stakes very bluntly" in Ghana at the U.N. Conference on Trade and Development, Ban also said the "crisis could cascade into multiple crises, affecting trade, development and even social and political security around the world."

The situation could also threaten the livelihoods of hundreds of millions of people, he said.

Having appointed John Holmes as his coordinator and David Nabarro as his deputy coordinator, the U.N. chief said he was anxious to get the task force "moving at full speed.".

While Holmes is Ban's undersecretary general for humanitarian affairs and emergency relief coordinator, Nabarro is currently the special coordinator for avian bird flu.

Ban said he expected that Holmes would meet soon to establish an advisory board ahead of the upcoming meeting.

They were also expected to discuss the short, medium and long-term goals of the task force.

Source: Japan Economic Newswire