Image
The Africa Cup of Nations promotes a Zero Hunger Africa by 2025
On the 17th January 2015, the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) began in venues across Equatorial Guinea. Sixteen teams across Africa are involved in the tournament including SUN countries Mozambique, Mali, Nigeria, Uganda, Zimbabwe, Burkina Faso, Congo, Ethiopia, Ghana, Buruni, DR Congo and Mauritania. The “African…
January 21, 2015 - Last update: February 10, 2023
On the 17th January 2015, the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) began in venues across Equatorial Guinea. Sixteen teams across Africa are involved in the tournament including SUN countries Mozambique, Mali, Nigeria, Uganda, Zimbabwe, Burkina Faso, Congo, Ethiopia, Ghana, Buruni, DR Congo and Mauritania. The “African Football Against Hunger” campaign was organised by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the Confederation of African Football (CAF). The video campaign features throughout the matches and includes features commitments made by African leaders to unite and eradicate hunger by the year 2025.
“Eradicating hunger requires teamwork and perseverance — the same qualities that players in the Nations Cup show us on the field,” said José Graziano da Silva, FAO Director-General.
Africa Solidarity Trust Fund
The FAO-administered Africa Solidarity Trust Fund (ASTF), also featured in the video which was established in 2013. The ASTF is the first Africa-for-Africa fund, it has so far leveraged some $40 million from African States (primarily Equatorial Guinea and Angola) for projects that aim to improve agriculture and fight hunger.
The work of FAO and the ASTF complements the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Program (CAADP), a home-grown, region-wide cooperative effort to boost agricultural productivity that was launched by governments 10 years ago. Investments in agricultural development, strong social safety nets and rights to access resources are of great importance to ensure a food-secure Africa, according to the UN agency. It also highlights the need to support small-scale farmers, who work more than 60 percent of the agricultural land.
