Africa to speak with one voice at UN food summit

ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia

The United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) is spearheading a conversation that will ensure that African countries speak with one voice at the upcoming United Nations Food Systems Summit (UNFSS), the commission said in a press release Tuesday.

The UNFSS will be convened by UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Sept. 23 in New York to expedite the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) through game-changing solutions to address food insecurity and build resilience to vulnerabilities and shocks.

Vera Songwe, the United Nations Under-Secretary-General and ECA Executive Secretary, said the summit would focus the discussions on groundbreaking solutions to transform food systems across the globe in order to achieve all 17 SDGs of the UN’s Agenda 2030.

Africa’s common position was communicated during the pre-summit event that took place from July 26-28 this year. It is also expected that Africa’s common position will be spelled out during the UNFSS through the current president of the African Union, Felix Tshisekedi.

The release quoted Joan Kagwanja, chief of the Agriculture and Business Enabling Environment Section (ECA), as saying that Africans will together seek to address the issues of climate change and food insecurity on the continent at the UNFSS summit.