Kevin Farrell has been selected as Special Envoy for Hunger to oversee Ireland’s response to the global hunger crisis.
The appointment of an envoy was one of the key recommendations included in the Government's Hunger Task Force's report that was published last year.
Mr Farrell, formerly of the World Food Programme (WTP), will be charged with promoting and assisting efforts to reduce hunger and food insecurity and meet the Millennium Development Goal to halve global hunger levels by 2015.
The envoy will be appointed for a term of 18 months and will submit a report to the Minister of State for Overseas Development, Peter Power, on the progress Ireland has made in relation to introducing Hunger Task Force recommendations next year.
Mr Power said the envoy was to ensure efforts to address hunger are implemented effectively across the Irish Aid programme, in line with the broad recommendations of the Hunger Task Force.
The Hunger Task Force was established in 2007 and includes a number of Irish and international experts and activists Prof Jeffrey Sachs of Columbia University, Josette Sheeran, executive director of the World Food Programme, and Bono.
Mr Farrell worked for the World Food Programme (WFP) from 1989 to 2008, in key positions including head of Great Lakes Operations in WFP Headquarters in Rome and head of the WFP in Uganda and Somalia. From 2002 until 2008 he was the WFP head in Zimbabwe, developing one of the largest WFP operations internationally, in response to the emerging food crisis there.
Concern Worldwide today welcomed the appointment of Mr Farrell as special envoy.
“The appointment of a Special Envoy for Hunger affirms Ireland’s commitment to leading from the front in addressing the plight of the poorest and most malnourished of the world at a time when the global recession and the international financial crisis makes them more vulnerable than they have ever been," said Tom Arnold, chief executive of Concern Worldwide.
