Ending hunger within a generation is achievable, and should be one of the goals in the next round of United Nations development targets, according to a new report by an anti-hunger advocacy group.
Bread for the World is urging the United States to take the lead to end world hunger by 2040.
"The world made more progress against poverty in the 2000s than in any other decade in human history," says David Beckmann, president of Bread for the World.
Part of the credit for that progress, Beckmann says, should go to a set of goals agreed to by United Nations member countries at the turn of the millennium to improve basic living conditions worldwide by 2015.
The Millennium Development Goals provided a way to hold governments accountable and to mobilize support for more effective global development.
While most countries are reaching the goal of reducing extreme poverty, progress is lagging on the goal of cutting the number of hungry people in the world by half.
But Beckmann says the international community is moving in the right direction. And with 2015 just around the corner, he says it's time to think about the next step.
"That bullet [main] goal should be to get the job done," Beckmann says. "To end world hunger and extreme poverty within a generation. It's possible and it's very compelling."
He credits U.S. President Barack Obama for launching initiatives in his first term aimed at boosting food security in developing countries.
Beckmann says those initiatives are just getting started. Now that Mr. Obama has been re-elected, Beckmann says there is potential for significant progress.
"If the president provides leadership, we could hit within the next three years...the millennium development goal for cutting hunger in half. And he would have put us on track for ending hunger in a generation."