On 16 October, Concern Worldwide will host an international conference on the issues surrounding hunger.

The conference's key objectives are to highlight the scandal of hunger in the world today and to advocate for comprehensive and innovative approaches to combat it. This has become even more pertinent given the current food crisis.

Hunger task force

Concern has been involved in combating hunger in emergency and development contexts for more than 40 years. Tom Arnold, Concern's CEO, has been a member of the UN Hunger Task Force and is currently a member of the Irish Hunger Task Force.

One innovation in tackling hunger is the use of Ready to Use Therapeutic Foods. This product was manufactured by Valid Nutrition in Lilongwe.Â

The Irish Hunger Task Force was established to recommend ways in which Ireland can most effectively play an international leadership role in the fight against hunger. It is due to report its recommendations in July .

Opinion leaders

Concern is inviting senior policy makers from developing countries, particularly those in Africa, and from donor countries, including Ireland, UK, US and EU. Senior representatives from the business community, academia, media and NGOs will be attending.

The key note speaker will be Kofi Annan, Chairperson for the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA) and former Secretary-General of the United Nations.

Other contributors include:

• Peter Power TD, Minster of State for Overseas Development, Ireland
• Mary Robinson, Elder and former President of Ireland
• Boitshepo Giyose, Food and Nutrition adviser for African Union's New Partnership for Africa's Development
• Jeffrey Sachs, Director, the Earth Institute at Columbia University
• Joachim von Braun, Director General, International Food Policy Research Institute
• Tom Arnold, Chief Executive Officer, Concern Worldwide
• Jim Miley, Chairman of Concern Worldwide
• Brendan Rogers, Irish Assistant Secretary General, Department of Foreign Affairs
• Sheila Sisulu, Director, World Food Programme
• Akin Adesina, Vice President, Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA) 
• Agnes Abera Kalibata, State Minister for Agriculture in Rwanda

The conference will run from 9am until 4.15pm. Click here for the full schedule of the day. More details on the individual session and speakers are available here as a pdf file (15.7 KB).

• Directions to the venue and a map are available here
• Visit the official venue site
• Media contacts for fighting hunger conference