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Transforming Global Food Systems: $400 billion needed per year while doing nothing could cost $12 trillion
Following recent news that the fight against hunger has stalled, a gathering of global leaders taking stock of progress made in transforming food systems becomes even more urgent.
“There will be no end to the cycle of hunger and poverty if we continue to finance instruments and business models that do not work for primary producers and food-systems operators,” said Alvaro Lario, President of the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) in a statement during the opening session of UN Food Systems Summit + 2 Stocktaking Moment on Monday.
He added that firm financial commitments and political will are needed to halt current trends and build a food secure future.
The Summit is convened by UN Secretary General António Guterres, who said in his opening address: “In a world of plenty, it is outrageous that people continue to suffer and die from hunger.”
Later he added, “Starving food systems on investment means, quite literally, starving people.”
The emerging global vision is to create a new food financial architecture with governments, the private sector and development partners mobilising as much as US$400 billion a year until 2030 - far less than the cost of inaction estimated at $12 trillion a year in environmental, social, and economic damage to communities, families, livelihoods and lives.
Providing access to healthy diets
“Today’s food systems have failed to make nutritious diets accessible or affordable for all. Four out 10 people worldwide are unable to afford a healthy diet. We must build a world where healthy and nutritious food is available and affordable for everyone, everywhere. If we don’t act now, the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and climate targets remain completely out of reach,” said Lario.
Read: UN food chief: Billions needed to avert unrest, starvation
According to the latest figures that the UN released on 12 July, 122 million more people are suffering chronic malnourishment since 2019. Currently, over 3 billion people in the world cannot afford a healthy diet. Food systems are responsible for one-third of greenhouse gas emissions, up to 80% of biodiversity loss and up to 70% of fresh-water consumption.
Financing food systems transformation: a cost within reach
“We need to massively scale-up investments in rural development and across food systems to help small-scale farmers produce more food and more diversified food, access markets, value chains and technologies and adapt to climate change,” added Lario. IFAD, the only UN fund that exclusively focuses on rural areas, is co-leading the financing agenda together with the World Bank Group.
“All the governments represented here today have committed to eliminating poverty and hunger, and to taking urgent climate action by 2030. So, I am here to say loudly and clearly that we will not succeed – that you will not succeed – unless we transform our food systems today.
Read: UN food price index dropped in July for fourth month
The stakes are higher than ever. The next few years are critical for financing food security,” said Sabrina Elba, who is receiving an honourable mention at the UN SDG Awards for her work as IFAD’s Goodwill Ambassador.
The Summit is taking stock over the next three days of the progress made to create inclusive, sustainable and resilient food systems. The event is hosting 2,000 in-person participants and thousands of virtual attendees from 170 countries – including 22 heads of state, 103 ministerial level delegates, close to 100 Food Systems National Convenors, 450 non-state actor (NSA) delegates, and high-level delegates from the UN system and other international organizations.
Read more: UN food agency members vote to elect new director general
This year’s dengue death toll rises to 185 with nine more deaths in 24 hours
Nine more deaths were reported from dengue in 24 hours till Monday morning, raising the fatalities from the mosquito-borne disease in Bangladesh to 185 this year.
During the period, 2, 293 more patients were hospitalised with the viral fever, according to the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS).
Of the new patients, 1, 238 were admitted to hospitals in Dhaka and the rest outside it, according to DGHS.
Read: This year's highest 2,292 hospitalised for dengue in a day; death toll reaches 176
A total of 7, 463 dengue patients, including 4, 395 in the capital, are now receiving treatment at hospitals across the country.
So far, the DGHS has recorded 35, 270 dengue cases, 27, 622 recoveries.
Read: 11 more deaths as July turns deadliest month ever for dengue in Bangladesh
The country logged 281 dengue deaths in 2022 – the highest on record after 179 deaths recorded in 2019. Also, it recorded 62,423 dengue cases and 61,971 recoveries last year.
Read more: Dhaka's two city corporations faltering in the face of spiraling dengue outbreak
Total fish production can rise to 85 lakh MT by 2041: F & L Minister Rezaul
The government has set a target to produce 85 lakh metric tonnes of fish by 2041, said Minister for Fisheries and Livestock SM Rezaul Karim on Monday.
“The government has set a target to produce 85 lakh mts of fish by 2041, which is 1.8 times higher than the current production,” he said while speaking at a press briefing held at Matsya Bhaban on the occasion of National Fisheries Week-2023.
The government has taken various steps to ensure that the fish produced in the country are safe for the health of the human being, he said.
National Fisheries Week kicks off Monday
The National Fisheries Week-2013 is being observed in the country with a theme that is “Nirapad Mache Vorbo Desh, Gorbo Smart Bangladesh” (Let’s the country be filled with safe fish production and Build Smart Bangladesh).
Smart technology will be used in the process of production, marketing, processing and export in the smart fisheries sector and the ministry is working with a target to contribute most to building smart Bangladesh, said the minister.
WTO chief meets PM Hasina, wants Dhaka to reduce subsidies on fisheries
“Earlier, our target was to increase the production of fish but now our target is to build ‘smart Bangladesh’ through increasing healthy and safe fish production. The government has built an international standard laboratory to produce safe and healthy fish and supplied it locally and internationally,” said Rezaul.
Fish from Bangladesh is being exported to 52 countries and in the fiscal year 2022-2023 the government earned Tk 4,790.30 crore as revenue after exporting 70,000 mts of fish and fisheries products, he said adding that “Some 1.95 crore people have been involved directly or indirectly in the fisheries sector.”
Two-month fishing ban in Bay of Bengal begins today
Mentioning that, Bangladesh now holds the top position in producing Hilsa in the globe while it ranked third in producing fish in inland open water, fifth in cultivating fish in fish enclosures and fourth in producing Tilapia fish in the world, said the minister.
Food Ministry to receive Bangabandhu Public Administration Award 2023
The Ministry of Food has been chosen for "Bangabandhu Public Administration Award 2023" for its significant contribution.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina will hand over the award officially on July 31, said a letter signed by senior secretary of the Public Administration Ministry, Mohammad Mejbah Uddin Chowdhury.
Standard Chartered Bank clinches “Best International Bank in Bangladesh” award
According to the letter, “It also congratulated all involved in the government's massive financial savings initiative in social security activities by reforming policies and procedures through using digital systems."
9 Bangladeshi youths get conferred with prestigious Diana Award 2023
2 minor girls drown in Jamalpur pond
Two girls drowned in a pond at Shahbajpur Pingalhati village in Sadar upazila of Jamalpur on Monday.
The deceased were Shukriya, 7, daughter of Saddam Hossain and Atiya, 7, daughter of Ershad Hossain, of the Shahbajpur Pingalhati village, who were cousins.
They were class-one students of a local kindergarten madrasa.
Read: Missing man’s body recovered a day after wife drowned in Padma river
Md Ayub Ali Khan, chairman of Shahbajpur union parishad, quoting the victims’ families said that the children went down the pond to take baths in absence of others at noon.
Later, the bodies of the children were found floating in the pond, he said.
They were rushed to Jamalpur General Hospital where physicians declared them dead upon arrival, said the hospital’s medical officer Dr Soumitr Kumar Banik.
The UP chairman Ayub said police visited the spot and approved to bury them without autopsy upon the families’ request.
Read more: 19 women drowned as boat capsizes in Pakistan's Indus River: media
Team of international election observers to arrive on July 28
A team of international election observers will visit Bangladesh on July 28, Election Monitoring Forum (EMF) said today.
EMF came up with the announcement while speaking at a press briefing held at Jatiya Press Club.
A six member delegation comprising representatives from the US, UK, Ireland, South Korea, Japan and China will arrive in Dhaka on July 28 as international election observers and will publish a report after assessing the situation regarding the next national election, EMF said.
EMF seeks cooperation of MoFA for inviting foreign observers
Nick Paul, a senior journalist on European Union political affairs from Ireland will lead the team. They will also participate in a dialogue on “Assessing the pre-election situation and political environment” to be held on July 29.
They will also exchange views with the Chief Election Commissioner and other Election Commissioners on July 30 and July 31.
National election was fair and peaceful, claims EMF
The team will likely meet the Law Minister, Home Minister, State Minister for Foreign Affairs, Information and Broadcasting Minister, and leaders of Awami League, BNP, Jatiya Party, Islami Andolan Bangladesh, Bangladesh Islami Front, Zaker Party, Islamic Front Bangladesh, Krishak Sramik Janata League, Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal, Islami Oikya Jote and other political parties.
Besides, a third team of international election observers will arrive in the country on September 15 and representatives from South Asian countries including Maldives, Nepal, India, Sri Lanka, and Bhutan will be in the team.
Earlier, on February 24, the first team of international election observers from Germany, Nepal, India and Bhutan visited Bangladesh and exchanged views with some police parties, Election Commission and representatives of civil society.
General Election to be held as per constitution: Obaidul Quader
Chairman of EMF Prof. Mohammad Abed Ali read out the written statement at the press briefing.
Bangladesh sees one more Covid death, 77 cases in 24hrs
Bangladesh reported one more COVID-19-linked death and 77 fresh cases in 24 hours till Monday morning.
With the new numbers, the country's total fatalities rose to 29,469 and caseload to 2,044,048, according to the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS).
The daily case test positivity rate decreased to 3.2 per cent from Sunday’s 5.64 as 2, 409 samples were tested.
Read: Bangladesh sees one more Covid death, 109 cases in 24hrs
The recovery rate also increased slightly to 9.38 percent from 98.33. However, the death rate remained unchanged at 1.44 percent.
Bangladesh registered its highest daily caseload of 16,230 on July 28 in 2021 and highest number of fatalities of 264 on August 10 the same year.
Read more: Bangladesh sees one more Covid death, 80 cases in 24hrs
Nur now calls two media outlets ‘govt’s lackeys’
After video of Nurul Haque Nur and his supporters trying to break the gate to their office space that had been locked by the building’s owner over rent “due for almost 17 months” went viral, the leader of a faction of Gono Odhikar Parishad has lashed out at media outlets, calling them “lackeys of the government.”
“DBC (News) and Somoy TV are just the government’s lackeys,” Nur recently told a public gathering.
He also alleged that Somoy TV is on a mission to “continuously criticise opposition leaders led by the BNP,” according to a video posted on his official Facebook page.
Days earlier, a number of media outlets reported statement of the building owner, saying that Nur and his supporters “have not paid rent for almost 17 months” for the space, leading him to lock the office.
Read: Nur and his supporters try to break into locked office space, building owner says rent due for almost 17 months
Later, Nur and his followers tried to break the locked collapsible gate and enter the office, and an altercation took place with the owner.
In a video that went viral, Nur can be seen tearing his own panjabi and later went to a hospital.
Regarding Nur’s verbal attack on the media outlets, Gazi Nasiruddin Khokon, who held senior ranks in prominent national media outlets, said that in a democracy, a thriving media that can criticise both the government and the opposition equally without fear can be deemed a model. Such reaction from Nur in defence of BNP and the opposition undermines their own commitment to freedom of speech, he added.
Read: Reza Kibria threatens to sue Nur, two others
If he had proof that these media outlets circulated misinformation and disinformation, he would have served rejoinders against the reportage, the senior journalist said.
“Though Nur frequently criticises the government about curtailing freedom of speech, these attacks on the press clearly exposes his hypocrisy,” he said.
Nur had earlier verbally attacked journalists, calling them “slaves and agents of the government” when media carried reports of senior members, who parted with Nur, blaming him of “embezzling party funds” and running the party in “an autocratic manner.”
Yesterday, 21 leaders and activists of Dhaka University unit of Chhatra Odhikar Parishad, the student front of Nur’s party, resigned en bloc protesting “immorality and policy violations by its central leaders.”
Read more:DU Chhatra Odhikar Parishad leaders resign en bloc
Fire service truck driver dies of stroke behind the wheel; collision with multiple vehicles leaves rickshaw-puller dead
Driver of a fire service truck had a stroke while behind the wheel and died, causing a collision with a rickshaw and two other vehicles, leaving the rickshaw-puller dead and eight people injured at Chashara crossing of Narayanganj earlier today (July 24, 2023).
The fire service truck driver was identified as Jahangir Hossain, while identities of the deceased rickshaw-puller and the injured could not be known immediately.
Read: 9th grader killed in road accident in capital
Fakhruddin, deputy director of Narayanganj Fire Service and Civil Defence, confirmed the death of Jahangir, saying that a civilian was also killed when the fire service truck hit a rickshaw and two other vehicles after the driver died behind the wheel.
Aktaruzzaman, deputy director of Fire Service Headquarters in Dhaka, said a rickshaw, a bus, and a private car were hit by the fire service vehicle when driver Jahangir suffered a stroke on the way to a fire incident in Fatullah.
Read: 39 killed as fire rips through launch off Jhalokati coast
Md Bachhu Miah, inspector of Dhaka Medical College Hospital (DMCH) police outpost, said two of the injured were admitted to the hospital, where they are undergoing treatment, and the rest are at several hospitals in Narayanganj.
Anisur Rahman, officer-in-charge of Narayanganj Model Police Station, said a fire broke out at a factory in Fatuallah’s BSCIC area in the morning. The fire service truck was going there.
The accident happened around 10:30 am when the fire service vehicle hit the bus, private car, and rickshaw.
Read more: 1 killed in road accident in Khulna
Ambulance owners call strike from Tuesday
Bangladesh Ambulance Owners Welfare Association has called for an indefinite nationwide strike to press home their six-point demand, including the withdrawal of taxes imposed by Bangladesh Road Transport Authority(BRTA).
The strike of private ambulance owners will begin on Tuesday (July 25, 2023) if the demands are not met by today, said Gulam Mostafa, President of the Bangladesh Ambulance Owners Welfare Association on Monday.
Not enough fuel allocation means no ambulance service at Faridpur General Hospital for 45 days
Other demands include formation of a national policy on ambulances and the implementation of prime minister’s announced toll-free facility for ambulances.
The ambulance owners also demanded parking facilities at all hospitals in the country, the facility to fill up fuel at filling stations without having to wait in lines while transporting a patient, and uninterrupted travel on roads.
4 dead, 3 injured as truck collides with ambulance in Gopalganj