The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations celebrates World Food Day each year on 16 October, the day on which the Organization was founded in 1945.
The objectives of World Food Day are to:
* encourage attention to agricultural food production and to stimulate national, bilateral, multilateral and non-governmental efforts to this end;
* encourage economic and technical cooperation among developing countries;
* encourage the participation of rural people, particularly women and the least privileged categories, in decisions and activities influencing their living conditions;
* heighten public awareness of the problem of hunger in the world;
* promote the transfer of technologies to the developing world; and
* strengthen international and national solidarity in the struggle against hunger, malnutrition and poverty and draw attention to achievements in food and agricultural development.
FAO Director-General’s message on the World Food Day/TeleFood 2008 theme:
"World Food Security: the Challenges of Climate Change and Bioenergy"
From 3 to 5 June 2008, delegates from 181 countries met in Rome – including 43 Heads of State and Government and over 100 ministers – to participate in the High-Level Conference on World Food Security. Over 5 000 people attended this event, which brought the food crisis to the forefront of the global development agenda. The Conference reaffirmed the need to produce more and therefore to invest more in agriculture. There is indeed a need to address the growing food demand due to increasing populations, economic progress in emerging countries and competition in the bioenergy sector when supply is affected by climate change and declining stocks.
This year’s World Food Day theme which is: “World Food Security: the Challenges of Climate Change and Bioenergy”, provides an opportunity to promote the conclusions of the High-Level Conference in order to implement them as soon as possible.
Climate change affects everyone but the poorest regions are already its first victims. Their situation is likely to worsen in the next decades. The worst hit will be hundreds of millions of people who are already vulnerable and food insecure: small-scale crop and animal producers, fishers and foresters. Climate change will affect availability of land, water and biodiversity. Changes in temperatures and precipitation, as well as more frequent extreme weather patterns, are expected to result in agriculture production shortfalls with negative impacts on access to food.
Therefore, climate change is likely to increase migration towards richer countries while rising sea levels may force many communities in low-lying coastal areas and river deltas to move to higher ground. These risks need to be taken into account. And the analysis of food security needs to be placed in a completely new context.
During the last three years, due to the soaring food and energy prices, the number of hungry people has increased by another 75 million at the end of 2007. This crisis is due to decreasing investments in agriculture in the poorest countries during the last 30 years. The share of agriculture in public development aid declined from 17% in 1980 to 3% in 2006. Financial institutions drastically reduced their funds for agriculture. We need to reverse this trend to come back to the previous level of investment. We also need to create food enabling frameworks for substantial increase of direct foreign investments for agriculture in low-income, food-deficit countries. Equitable partnerships between countries which have land, water and labour supply and countries which have financial resources, management facilities and markets would constitute a solid base for sustainable agriculture. Agriculture has to be able to double global food production by 2050, when the current population of the globe now at 6 billion, will reach 9 billion. This is the only way to mobilise the needed funds for a renewal of agriculture which are estimated at US$ 30 billion per year by the special High-Level Task Force on the Global Food Crisis.
On this World Food Day 2008, I invite you to promote the Declaration of the High-Level Conference on World Food Security, mobilising all stakeholders: national governments, international institutions, agricultural professional organizations, civil society and the private sector for its implementation. More than ever, the future of this planet depends on our capacity to sustain the development of agriculture in the poorest countries.
Jacques Diouf
Director-General
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
The first International Day of Rural Women is observed on 15 October 2008. This new international day, established by the General Assembly in its resolution 62/136 of 18 December 2007, recognizes “the critical role and contribution of rural women, including indigenous women, in enhancing agricultural and rural development, improving food security and eradicating rural poverty.”
The idea of honoring rural women with a special day was put forward by international NGOs at the Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing in 1995. It was suggested that 15 October be celebrated as “World Rural Women’s Day,” the eve of World Food Day, in order to highlight the role played by rural women in food production and food security. “World Rural Women’s Day” has been celebrated, primarily by civil society, across the world for over a decade.
In 2007, at the tenth session of the Regional Conference on Women in Latin America and the Caribbean, Member States of the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean, expressed in the Quito Consensus their decision to promote the adoption of an International Day of Rural Women “as an explicit recognition of [rural women’s] economic contribution and the development of their communities, in particular with regard to the unpaid work they perform.”
The contribution of rural women
The International Day of Rural Women will direct attention to both the contribution that women make in rural areas, and the many challenges that they face. Women play a critical role in the rural economies of both developed and developing countries. In most parts of the developing world they participate in crop production and livestock care, provide food, water and fuel for their families, and engage in off-farm activities to diversify the family income. In addition, they carry out vital functions in caring for children, older persons and the sick.
Women make an important contribution to food production. According to the International labor Organization (ILO), 428 million women work in the agricultural sector around the world, compared to 608 million men. In many parts of the world, agriculture is the first sector of employment for women, for instance in Sub-Saharan Africa and in South Asia, where respectively 68 per cent and 61 per cent of working women are employed in agriculture.
Access to education and health
In developing countries, 25 per cent of rural children do not attend primary school, compared to 16 per cent of urban children, and gender inequalities in access to education remain: 69 per cent of rural girls attend primary school compared to 73 per cent of rural boys.
Different factors, including the need for their labor, the low levels of education of their parents, and lack of access to quality schooling, account for the high proportion of out-of-school children in rural areas. The gender disparity is partly due to the fact that girls are heavily relied upon for housework and child care. Other factors that account for girls’ unequal access to education in rural areas include a lack of a safe means of transportation, poor security in schools, and the lack of separate sanitation facilities.
Rural women are also disadvantaged in their access to health. For instance, in many countries, reproductive health care remains inadequate, and maternal mortality continues to be high, with the highest rates in Sub-Saharan Africa. In every region of the world, the presence of skilled birth attendants is lower in rural than in urban areas.
Most pregnant women in rural areas continue to work while pregnant and resume work soon after delivery. Moreover, the absence of timely medical care, inadequate diet and heavy workload often results in complicated pregnancies and high maternal mortality rates.
Poverty
Rural women are particularly vulnerable to poverty. According to the World Bank, 75 per cent of the poor in developing countries live in rural areas. While women work the land, they often do not hold formal and clear land titles. Less than two per cent of land in the developing world is owned by women, according to the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD). A lack of rights over land makes women extremely vulnerable to eviction and negatively affects their economic options.
Women’s access to credit is also limited because land is the major asset used as collateral to obtain loans. Women have to rely heavily on the unregulated, informal sector to meet their needs, and often pay higher interest rates as a result. While limited access to land and credit affects rural women as a whole, some groups are particularly vulnerable and marginalized, such as widows, indigenous women and women heading households – a growing category, due to male out-migration.
Global challenges
Women and girls, particularly in rural areas, are also acutely exposed to the food crisis currently affecting the world. High food prices mean that the poor have to spend a larger proportion of their income on food and will probably buy less food or food that is less nutritious.
Moreover, in some societies the practice for men and boys to eat before women and girls may further compromise the latter’s food intake in times of shortages.
Another current global issue that disproportionately impacts rural women is climate change. Women and girls living in areas affected by desertification and deforestation have to walk longer to collect water and firewood, which further limits the time they can devote to school or income-generating activities. It may also put them at greater risk of gender-based violence.
Moreover, rural women suffer more from natural disasters, such as floods, fires, and mudslides, than men. A study of 141 countries showed that natural disasters killed more women than men, both directly and indirectly, in countries where the status of women was low. Other research provides evidence that there are frequently higher female casualties during floods because women have not been taught how to swim.
World Mental Health Day is observed on 10 October every year to raise public awareness about mental health issues. The theme for this year's World Mental Health Day - 'Advocacy for Global Mental Health: Scaling Up Services through Citizen Advocacy and Action' - was chosen partly to gather together the hundreds of grassroots mental health organizations that participate in the World Mental Health Day so they can plan and carry out awareness and advocacy events within their own communities and countries.
Greater efforts are needed to address the difficulties in providing mental health care and protecting the human rights of those with severe disorders, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said today, urging scaled up resources to provide care to those who need it.
“Mental health is of paramount importance for personal well-being, family relationships and an individual’s ability to contribute to society,” Mr. Ban said in his message on World Mental Health Day, observed annually on 10 October.
He pointed out that mental disorders occur “in all cultures and at all stages of life,” and are too often linked to poverty, marginalization and social disadvantage.
Resources to tackle the issue are “insufficient, inequitably distributed and inefficiently used,” the Secretary-General noted.
“Scaling up services should be a priority,” he said, hailing a new initiative announced by the UN World Health Organization (WHO).
With over three quarters of people suffering from mental disorders in the developing world receiving no care, “Mental health Gap Action Programme (mhGAP): Scaling up care for mental, neurological and substance use disorders” seeks to close the massive treatment gap.
WHO said that tens of millions could be treated for diseases such as depression and schizophrenia, even where resources are scarce, so long as there is proper care, psychosocial assistance and medication.
“Governments across the world need to see mental health as a vital component of primary health care,” said WHO Director-General Margaret Chan. “We need to change policy and practice.”
In most countries, less than 2 per cent of health funds are earmarked for mental health. One third of people living with schizophrenia, over half suffering from depression and three quarters with alcohol-use disorders cannot access affordable care.
Meanwhile, one person dies of suicide – one of the leading causes of death, albeit a preventable one, among young adults worldwide – every 40 seconds.
The cost of boosting services is not very high, WHO said, and can be as low as $0.20 per person per year to enhance treatment for schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, depression and hazardous alcohol use.
“We need to ensure that people with these disorders are not denied opportunities to contribute to social and economic life and that their human rights are protected,” said Benedetto Saraceno, Director of WHO’s Mental Health and Substance Abuse Department.
In her message on the Day, the head of the UN Population Fund (UNFPA) stressed the importance of addressing mental health through the lens of reproductive health, which “is a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being.”
During pregnancy and after delivery, many women suffer from depression, but cannot access the necessary treatment. “Perinatal depression is associated with increased risk of obstetric complications and premature birth,” said Thoraya Ahmed Obaid, UNFPA’s Executive Director. “And depressed women are less likely to seek and receive antenatal or postnatal care.”
Survivors of gender-based and sexual violence need mental health and psychosocial support services, she added.
UNFPA and WHO have joined forces to integrate mental health services into existing maternal and child health policies.
“Today, we call on all governments and partners to include measures for mental health in efforts to achieve human development and respond to humanitarian crises,” Ms. Obaid said. “Mental health is central to human dignity.”
The United Nations’ (UN) International Day for Natural Disaster Reduction is annually observed on the second Wednesday of October to raise the profile of disaster risk reduction. It also encourages people and governments to participate in building more resilient communities and nations. This event is held on October 8 in 2008.
In 2008 the UN’s International Day for Disaster Reduction focuses on ensuring hospitals and health facilities are safe from disaster. As part of the day, governments, organizations, community groups and individuals worldwide are joining forces to raise people’s awareness of disaster reduction.
Many people around the world have lost their lives, homes or access to essential facilities, such as hospitals, due to natural disasters, including earthquakes, droughts, tsunamis, heavy flooding, hurricanes or cyclones. Some of these disasters have caused economic damage to some countries. The UN acknowledges that education, training, and information exchanges are effective ways to help people become better equipped in withstanding natural disasters.
On December 22, 1989, the UN General Assembly designated the second Wednesday of October as the International Day for Natural Disaster Reduction. This event was to be observed annually during the International Decade for Natural Disaster Reduction, 1990-1999. On December 20, 2001, the assembly decided to maintain the observance to promote a global culture of natural disaster reduction, including disaster prevention, mitigation and preparedness.
THE SECRETARY GENERAL MESSAGE ON THE INTERNATIONAL DAY FOR DISASTER REDUCTION
8 October 2008
The observance of the International Day for Disaster Reduction for 2008 takes
place in a year that has seen more than its fair share of natural calamities, and falls on the third anniversary of the earthquake in South Asia. With the casualties of that disaster and of this year’s Wenchuan Earthquake and Cyclone Nargis still fresh in our minds, it is all the more appropriate to recall the lessons we have learned. 
Nearly four years ago, Governments adopted the Hyogo Framework for Action,
which aims to reduce our collective vulnerability to natural hazards.But we must do
more to turn commitments on paper into deeds that can keep the next major disaster from taking so many lives and destroying so many livelihoods. Now more than ever, when we are trying to accelerate national and international efforts to achieve the Millennium Development Goals, disaster risk reduction needs to be acknowledged and incorporated as a key plank of that work. The threats posed by climate change – including increasing droughts, floods and storms – increases the urgency further still, particularly in the world’s poorest, most vulnerable communities.
The World Disaster Reduction Campaign for 20082009 focuses on making “Hospitals Safe from Disasters”. When health facilities are damaged, so, too, is our ability to improve maternal and child health and to provide other essential health services.
But in resilient communities, health systems are better able to withstand natural hazards. We need to mobilize society at every level to reduce risk and protect health facilities so that they can save lives.
I urge all partners – Governments, civil society, international financial institutions and the private sector to step up implementation of the Hyogo Framework. Disaster risk reduction is everybody’s business. Only by investing in tangible risk reduction measures can we reduce vulnerability and protect development. On this International Day, let us renew our dedication to this vital task.
The United Nations has designated the first Monday in October (this year, 6th October) each year as World Habitat Day. The idea is to reflect on the state of our towns and cities and the basic right to adequate shelter for all. It is also intended to remind the world of its collective responsibility for the future of the human habitat.
The United Nations chose the theme of Harmonious Cities for 2008 to raise awareness about the problems of rapid urbanization, its impact on the environment, the growth of slums, and the urbanization of poverty as more and more people teem into towns and cities looking for a better life.
In an age where for the first time half of humanity is now living in towns and cities, the quest for adequate shelter for all along with basic services such as water, sanitation, electricity, decent health care, safe streets, etc., is more urgent than ever, especially in developing countries. There should also be no illusion that cities have the greatest impact on the environment and climate change. And where they are poorly managed, with weak governance structures, it is their citizens and their surrounds that suffer most.
Urgent action is thus needed to foster widespread use of new energy efficient and environmentally friendly technologies to reduce urban pollution.
Harmonious Cities are inclusive cities where everyone and every culture is at home.
Indeed, such is the importance of all these aspects of Harmonious Cities that UN-HABITAT’s main flagship report in 2008 and the fourth session of the World Urban Forum in Nanjing, China from 3-7 November will also focus on Harmonious Cities to reinforce the World Habitat Day message.
The Secretary-General's message on World Habitat Day 2008
Many of the world’s most pressing challenges – poverty, natural disasters, escalating prices for food and fuel – have important links with rapid urbanization.
Urbanization changes forever the way we use land, water and energy. Done well, it can bring people choices and help them thrive. Done poorly, it reduces safety, despoils the environment and exacerbates the marginalization of those who are already suffering and excluded.
The theme of this year’s World Habitat Day is “harmonious cities”. Our rapidly urbanizing world cannot claim to be harmonious if slum-dwellers do not enjoy opportunities to find jobs and improve their living conditions. Nor will it be harmonious if the growth and expansion of urban areas comes at the expense of the natural environment. The Millennium Development Goals call for a significant improvement in the lives of at least 100 million slum dwellers by 2020. As of 2005, slightly more than one third of the urban population in developing regions lived in slum conditions. In sub-Saharan Africa, the proportion was over 60 percent, meaning that large investments will be necessary, for example to provide access to water, sanitation, durable housing or sufficient living space. But even in that region, and in others where deprivation is not as acute, simple, low-cost interventions could go a long way.
Cities have tremendous potential to be places where balanced development prevails, where diverse people live in harmony, and where healthy living conditions coexist with low levels of energy consumption, resource-use and waste. As we observe World Habitat Day, I call on all partners and stakeholders to do our utmost to realize this potential, and to build decent living conditions for all women, men and children in a way that also preserves our natural heritage and promotes greener and smarter growth. 
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