Chris Lyttle MLA said: “I would like to pay tribute to the creativity and commitment of the many people and organisations who united around the IF ‘Enough Food For Everyone’ campaign and who made sure world hunger was firmly on the agenda of the G8 summit.
“I believe a united voice contributed to an historic statement that called for new rules on tax information exchange to be obeyed which would help developing countries access the information they need to receive the money to which they are entitled.
“It was always said that the IF campaign would be the beginning of the end of world hunger. The G8 communique is exactly that – a beginning – requiring a great deal more work if pledges can be turned into concrete action.
“There has been some criticism that the final agreement lacked new, hard detail – the word ‘should’ was mentioned 13 times in the Lough Erne Declaration, with not one mention of the word ‘will’ – but in my opinion the detail in the communique will keep the agenda going.
“But ending global hunger is not as far-fetched as it may sound. One of the world’s greatest leaders Nelson Mandela reminds us that: ‘poverty is manmade, the solution is manmade’.
“The IF campaign and the thousands of supporters proved the will is there – it is our collective responsibility to continue the campaign to secure the action for those who desperately need it the most and to sustain our call on the G8 leaders to take the bold steps necessary to build a world free from hunger.”
ENDS