The FAO in Khartoum, together with the Government of the Republic of Sudan, recently celebrated its seventieth anniversary with an event at the Friendship Hall of the Sudanese capital. In light of the occasion, the UN organisation for agriculture recognised various institutions in Sudan for their long-lasting commitment to the worldwide fight against hunger: the Italian Cooperation, European Union and Usaid received a medal from Abdi Jama – director of the FAO in Sudan – created specifically for the celebration and coined in the Picchiani & Barlacchi facilities, designed by master Francesco Bombardi.
The theme selected for the event was “Agriculture and social protection to break the cycle of rural poverty”: this is a message that falls in line with the new “Sustainable Development Objectives” approved last September in New York by the United Nations General Assembly. The medal donated to Italy, on one side shows a stalk of wheat, on the other an oxcart, two images that represent a simple, yet age-old concept: essential food and how to obtain it.
Italy has had a special relationship with the FAO since its general headquarters were transferred to Rome in 1951. Furthermore, the close collaboration between the Directorate-General for Development Cooperation and the FAO, established in 1982, has enabled numerous interventions by the Italian Government within the same organisation, in support of rural and agricultural development in Sudan.
“Our challenge is to contribute to improving the safety of food here in Sudan. The Poverty Alleviation project is currently underway for people, with people. We are pleased to accept this gift from FAO, in recognition of a consolidated collaboration. But it’s time to get back to work. It’s the only way to guarantee food for everybody in this country”
, stated Alberto Bortolan, Director of the Italian Cooperation Office in Khartoum, at the end of the ceremony.
In Sudan, the Italian Cooperation recently donated 600,000 Euros to the FAO for a project that aims to respond to the dietary and nutritional needs of the rural population of eastern Sudan, (Project integrated with food safety and sustainability), accounting for 7,500 families in the states of Kassala and Red Sea. The initiative seeks to respond to the dietary and nutritional needs of the rural population of eastern Sudan, accounting for approximately 7,500 families. Poverty Alleviation, a directly managed project, is also working in close collaboration with the FAO and United Nations organisations in the fight against hunger, and to promote rural development as a strategic method of ensuring food safety and the country’s economic growth.
Source: ONU Italia