New York, September 25, 2003 (Agência Brasil - ABr) - Today, at the headquarters of the United Nations, President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva gave UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan the first donation to the UN's world fund to combat hunger and extreme poverty. Lula handed the Secretary-General a check worth US$ 55 thousand that he had been awarded by the Spanish government for the Prince of Astúrias prize. "In my address to the General Assembly, we proposed the creation of a World Fund to combat hunger. We are beginning with this contribution, which is small, but, in face of the needs, it is a symbolic gesture, and I think that this money will be well applied. The problem of hunger does not only affect Brazil; it is present in other countries in worse situations than Brazil," Lula pointed out.
When he handed Annan the check, President Lula joked, saying that he had already endorsed it. According to Lula, this check serves as a first contribution," and I hope that other heads of State and government can, starting now, begin to discuss contributions to the Fund, so that we resolve this, which is, in my opinion, humanity's biggest problem," he added.
President Lula recalled his meeting last night with the Prime-Minister of India and the President of South Africa, at which they discussed kicking off a campaign to get countries to contribute to the fund. "I think that everybody can make a contribution," Lula said. The President declared that there are various proposals under consideration, and the idea is to begin raising this issue with governments. "If each countries gives a little, we can help the poorest countries," Lula remarked.
As for private initiative, President Lula recalled that Brazil is conducting a test with the preparation of a list of firms, as a way to demonstrate that it is possible for private firms to take part in the campaign against hunger, if they are motivated. "I would like Oded Grajew, who is my adviser on this policy to combat hunger, to explain how much we have obtained in contributions from the private sector," Lula said.
Grajew explained that the survey of private firms was conducted over the past 30 days. Headquarters offices of multinational corporations active in Brazil are contributing to the Brazilian government's Zero Hunger program. "We brought together 14 contributors who donated a check worth US$ 1.6 million," Grajew said.
President Lula presented UN Secretary General Kofi Annan with "a rain stick," a Amazon Indian crafts piece used to bring rain. The Minister of Foreign Relations, Celso Amorim, said that President Lula's present served to call forth the rain and that it could also serve to call forth support to combat hunger and extreme poverty in the world. (DAS)
