G8 Summit took strong steps toward improving food security and nutrition but 'more still must be done'

With just seven months until L'Aquila commitment deadline, G8 leaders must fulfill their promises Media Contact:s: Laura Blank World Vision Media Relations Director 708.872.5265 Holly Frew World Vision Media Relations Manager 202.596.8509 Washington, DC (May 19, 2012) Over the course of this weekends G8 Summit, President Obama and the other G8 leaders took real strides to improve food security and nutrition for children around the world; the New Alliance for Food Security and Nutrition set an important target of bringing 50 million people out of poverty in the next 10 years. This G8 marked a new and more unifying direction as both the public and private sector came alongside civil society groups to fight chronic hunger and malnutrition, but we had hoped for more. In order for the gains at this summit to result in tangible results, World Vision seeks the following: On Commitment to LAquila Pledges: While we applaud the commitment made by G8 donors toward fulfilling the LAquila Food Security Initiative, it is troubling that there is no clear timeline for doing so with the deadline just months away. In addition, we call on the G8 to maintain LAquila levels of food security funding beyond 2012. The need for urgent scale up of these programs has only grown since 2009, so World Vision calls on the donors to live up to their pledges and disburse the remainder of promised funds, said Adam Taylor, Vice President for Advocacy with World Vision. On improving nutrition for children: World Vision welcomes the G8s support for improving nutrition, including endorsing the SUN movement and highlighting the crucial thousand-day window from conception to a childs second birthday. We also affirm their stated commitment to maintain programs to reduce child stunting. However, without specific goals and a timeline, we are concerned that nutrition will fail to be placed at the center of the New Alliances approach and food security plans. The 170 million children at risk this year of being stunted from chronic malnutrition cannot afford delays. As these same leaders prepare for the G20 Summit, we continue to call on them to enact these promises to set the bold, achievable target of reducing by 15 million the number of children who are stunted, in high-priority countries by 2015. G8 leaders must also move quickly to deliver on their Muskoka Initiative child and maternal health promises to ensure meeting the goals for lives saved by 2015. The G8 leaders have been very clear that they want to link their investments to nutrition and food security. The measure of success in 10 years cannot just be growth of agricultural production or even economies. It has to be measured by the survival, growth and health of children, said Chris DH, Vice President for Advocacy with World Vision. On Commitment to Accountability: Leading up to the G8, there were indications that the Accountability Report was going to be the strongest the G8 has produced. Unfortunately, as of the end of the Summit, the report has yet to be released, thus we have no way of assessing the G8's progress against its commitments. This highlights the necessity that future reports be made public well before the Summit takes place to ensure greater transparency and accountability.

Its ironic that the G8 has referenced its commitment to transparency and applauded themselves for this years accountability report yet the leaders still havent shared it with the people most affected by these issues, said Adam Taylor, Vice President for Advocacy with World Vision. While we applaud the real progress that has been made on food security and nutrition, if we had to give the G8 a grade right now, it would be incomplete. - END Interviews are available with Adam Taylor. Please contact Holly Frew(+1.202.596.8509) or Laura Blank (+1.708.872.5265) to schedule. About World Vision: World Vision is a Christian humanitarian organization dedicated to working with children, families, and their communities worldwide reach their full potential by tackling the causes of poverty and injustice. We serve the world's poor regardless of religion, race, ethnicity or gender. For more information on their efforts, visitWorldVision.org/press or follow them on Twitter at @WorldVisionNews