THE SECOND Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) First Ladies' Summit kicked off on 15 November at the Food and Agriculture Organisation's (FAO) headquarters in Rome. Chaired by Mrs Suzanne Mubarak, the summit convened under the banner "Food Security and Women's Access to Resources", Reem Leila reports. In the opening session Mrs Mubarak stressed the need to support the role of women in decision-making at national and international levels. She also discussed ways to improve women's access to productive resources in order to reduce hunger. Mrs Mubarak voiced appreciation for the FAO and its director-general, Jacques Diouf. She also welcomed former Ghanaian president John Kufuor to the summit. Participants, said Mrs Mubarak, were well aware of the importance of food security. But while rural women play an important role in increasing agriculture production statistics often fail to reflect their contribution to agriculture. "It is important to train women efficiently to raise awareness about the relation between health and nutrition," Mrs Mubarak added. According to FAO estimates more than one billion people worldwide are malnourished. Mrs Mubarak urged the international community to provide the food aid necessary to meet not just increasing demands but any disasters that might come. A report presented at the summit underscored the key role of women, who make up 40 per cent of the agricultural workforce. According to the International Labour Organisation (ILO), 428 million women and 608 million men work in agriculture. In a joint press conference held with Diouf, Mrs Mubarak identified women's issues as a shared concern that should be listed on the agenda of all international meeting.
