World Bank calls for more attention on global food crisis

As global food security remains in danger, leaders from the world's major economies should continue to pay attention to the challenging issue, the World Bank said Tuesday. "The food crisis is far from over," World Bank President Robert B. Zoellick said ahead of the upcoming G20 summit in Cannes, France. "Prices remain volatile and millions of people around the world are still suffering," Zoellick said. According to the World Bank's new Food Price Watch released on Tuesday, the food price index has dropped 5 percent from its February 2011 peak, while remaining 19 percent above its September 2010 level. The 187-member global financial institution said that it has been working closely with the French Presidency of the G20 and others to prevent the vulnerable from volatile food prices and to address the root causes of the crisis. "Millions of people around the world face a daily crisis of hunger and malnutrition. At Cannes, the G20 summit can and should take steps to address their needs," Zoellick said. Leaders of G20 members, who are meeting in Cannes, France, on Nov. 3-4, are expected to launch a series of measures to tackle the food challenge and endorse concrete actions to improve policy coordination and transparency.