Nicaragua, an excellent example in the fight against extreme poverty

June 20, 2013 - PRLog -- The Government of Nicaragua received award by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) for reducing the number of malnourished people in the country by 50 percent before 2015.

The original hunger and malnutrition Millennium Goal 1, of halving the proportion in each country between the period from 1990-1992 and 2012-2012 was set in 1996, while the World Food Summit Goal, established in 2000, calls for halving the absolute number of hungry in each country by 2015.

Eighteen countries achieved the second, more difficult goal, including Nicaragua.

"It is an honor for the country and for Nicaraguans, this is an important effort," said Nicaraguan Vice President, Omar Moses Halleslevens.

According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MINREX, for its acronym in Spanish), Halleslevens received a certificate of recognition on behalf of Nicaragua in Rome during the FAO Conference. The award was given to the country for the remarkable and exceptional progress in ensuring food security to its citizens.

According to official data, malnutrition in Nicaragua declined from 55.1 percent to 20.1 percent between 2010 and 2012, becoming one of the 18 countries in the world to have significantly advanced in the fight to eradicate poverty and extreme poverty.

Honduras and Panama were the other two countries in Central America that received recognition by the FAO for diminishing malnutrition significantly. In South America, Venezuela, Cuba, Saint Vincent and Grenadines also received recognition which are, like Nicaragua, members of the Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of Our America (ALBA, for its acronym in Spanish).