New York, NY – Singer Songwriter, Declan O’Rourke, joined Concern Worldwide CEO, Dominic MacSorley, and Concern Worldwide Haiti Program Director, Victoria Jean-Louis at the Permanent Mission of Ireland to the United Nations on Thursday, October 20 for a forum aimed at elevating the issue of conflict-driven hunger.
Missing from panel participation were two youth peace delegates from Haiti who were unable to join the event due to increased instability on the island nation. A core element of the Nothing Kills Like Hunger campaign involved conversations with young people who are agents for peace in their communities. Those testimonies from Haiti, Somalia, and the Democratic Republic of Congo are documented in a short film that premiered at the event.
“Most of the time, conflict is the root cause of hunger in our community…I am a farmer and when conflict breaks out we all flee and I have to leave my field and crops behind. Wherever we end up, we are newcomers, we have no fields, no reserves. This always makes us vulnerable,” said one participant, aged 20, from the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Concern Worldwide Haiti Program Director, Victoria Jean-Louis, hands over the Nothing Kills Like Hunger petition to H.E. Mr. Fergal Mythen, Permanent Representative of Ireland to the United Nations in New York. Within the striking image taken by Alexi Lubomirski are thousands of signatures from the public.
The over 10,000 signatories of the petition for Concern’s Nothing Kills Like Hunger campaign is asking global leaders to:
- Guarantee humanitarian assistance for the 50 million people who are currently at risk of famine;
- Break the cycle between conflict and hunger for good to prevent future famines;
- Investigate, condemn and take action against those who use starvation as a weapon of war.
“In 2021, 41 million people were on the brink of famine and the primary cause was conflict. A year later, that number has reached 50 million people- we are now truly facing catastrophe if we don’t respond with greater urgency,” said Concern Worldwide CEO, Dominic MacSorley.
Concern Worldwide US is an international humanitarian organization dedicated to eliminating extreme poverty, whatever it takes. For more information on our work and the Nothing Kills Like Hunger Campaign, contact Candance Patel-Taylor, Vice President of Communications at [email protected] or 212-557-8000. www.concernusa.org
