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World Food Day 2008

15 October 2008 (Updated 20 October)

World Food Day 2008 logo - Image courtesy of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations Thursday 16 October was World Food Day 2008 - an opportunity for the world to focus its attention on the serious hunger that still exists today in developing countries.

World Food Day had extra relevance this year, with all of us, in rich and poor countries alike, feeling the effects of the current global food crisis caused by rising prices.

For people in the UK, daily foods have become more expensive. But for world's poorest people, they have become unaffordable. Tonight, around 1 billion people will go to bed hungry.

The UK Government is working throughout the developing world to ensure that more people have the food that they need to survive and that their countries need to prosper. This not only means providing emergency rations when famine strikes - it also means helping to lay down the foundations that will secure food supplies well into the future.

Last week, Secretary of State for International Development Douglas Alexander visited Ethiopia. One of the countries most vulnerable to the current food crisis, Ethiopia has benefited from DFID assistance that aims to prevent famine, rather than just react to it.

For details about the events that took place around the globe on Thursday, visit the external linkWorld Food Day website. And follow the links below for more information about DFID's continued commitment to fighting hunger in poor countries.

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