WFP Centre of Excellence participates in event during food week in Osasco

*Igor Carneiro on the left, from the Centre of Excellence, together with the mayor of Osasco, Rogério Lins, on the right*
*Photo: City Hall of Osasco*

Strategies to fight hunger and actions led by local governments, civil society entities, companies and research institutes were at the centre of discussions during the seminar “Innovation and the Future in the Fight Against Hunger”, which took place on Wednesday, October 19th, in Osasco. The event, organized by the city’s Food Bank, linked to the City Hall Food and Nutritional Security Department, was part of the VI Municipal Week of Food and Nutritional Security.

Igor Carneiro, from the Programmes and Partnerships’ team at the World Food Programme (WFP) Centre of Excellence against Hunger in Brazil, participated in the panel “Food and Nutrition Security and the Fight against Hunger in the Context of the Sustainable Development Goals and the UN 2030 Agenda”. In his presentation, he gave an overview of hunger in the world, WFP’s emergency actions, and long-term projects to fight hunger, which is the focus of the Centre of Excellence’s work in Brazil.

“The World Food Programme is the largest humanitarian organization of the United Nations, saving lives in emergencies and using food assistance to build a path to peace, stability and prosperity,” said Igor Carneiro. “Every year, WFP assists about 130 million people in 125 countries with emergency food distribution, and also in building more resilient food systems. In addition to waste, more frequent and intense floods, droughts, and storms have quickly turned into food and nutrition crises, trapping vulnerable people in a chronic cycle of hunger and poverty,” he said.

Also during the event, the City Hall of Osasco announced its adhesion to the Milan Urban Food Policy Pact, during the Milan Forum, which gathered representatives from 162 cities in Rio de Janeiro, from October 17 to 19. “We celebrate that Osasco joined the Pact, as it demonstrates the municipality’s global commitment in the area of urban food and for the development of sustainable solutions to fight hunger,” said Igor Carneiro. “We hope to expand our collaboration with the municipality soon,” he concluded.