MONROVIA, October 18 (LINA) - The European Union has reiterated that “eradicating hunger is a fight we can and must win,” stressing that this explains its commitment to the promotion of sustainable agricultural development.

This was contained in a joint statement issued by Commissioner Andris Piebalgs of Development Aid and Kristalina Georgieva of Humanitarian Aid in observance of World Food Day on Thursday. The statement further stressed that eradicating extreme poverty and hunger is the first Millennium Development Goal (MDG), adding: “With the MDG deadline now less than 500 days away, we have to up our game.” “Today's World Food Day is an opportunity to reflect on how European Union aid is alleviating the world's greatest solvable problem: hunger. As we are about to pass on the work on humanitarian aid and development to the next European Commission, it is time to take stock of what we have achieved and what remains to be done,” the statement pointed out. It recalled that back in 2009 the number of hungry people in the world hit the critical one billion mark. “Since then, this number has fallen to 805 million or one in nine people worldwide. That's still 805 million people too many. But the numbers show that the international community - including the EU - is going in the right direction.” According to the statement, Europe is helping feed the world's hungry and helping them feed themselves, adding this was possible “through our partnerships with organizations like UNICEF, World Food Programme, Food and Agriculture Organization and others whose mission is to end hunger.” LINA GDJ/PTK