18/05/2012  - 

Food security is a key theme of the G8 summit taking place in Camp David this weekend. Commissioner Georgieva is in Washington to give the EU's support to the "New Alliance to improve food security and nutrition". Putting resilience at the heart of the new strategy and securing an active role for the private sector – especially local small businesses in the most affected regions and countries – is an essential step towards ending the cycle of food crises sparked by natural disasters such as droughts.

The goal is to improve food security and nutritional status in Africa by lifting 50 million people out of poverty in the next ten years. To achieve this the G8 will work in partnership with African countries, development agencies and the private sector. Six countries will be in cluded in the pilot phase: Burkina Faso, Ethiopia, Ghana, Côte d’Ivoire, Mozambique and Tanzania.

As part of the Chicago Council on Global Affairs' Symposium on Global Agriculture and Food Security, Commissioner Georgieva is taking part in a discussion on "Changing the Development Landscape: A New Alliance", which is chaired by Rajiv Shah, USAID Administrator.

She will be joined by the leaders of three African countries as well as the chiefs of multinational companies and the UK International Development Secretary Andrew Mitchell.