Musician, author, and activist Declan O’Rourke will use his Galway concert this Saturday (March 19 ) and his Irish tour to support Concern Worldwide’s campaign, calling on global leaders to end conflict-driven hunger and famine.
“In 2021, there should be no place for famine or hunger in the world, yet it is happening, and conflict is the main driver,” Concern Worldwide Chief Executive Dominic MacSorley said. “We are delighted that Declan is supporting our Nothing Kills Like Hunger campaign and bringing it to a wider audience.”
Over a 20 year period, Declan has written and sung extensively about famine, culminating in his award-winning 2017 album Chronicles of the Great Irish Famine and his best-selling novel The Pawnbroker’s Reward, published last year.
“This year marks the 175th anniversary of the Irish famine. Wouldn’t it be great if, using our own experience of hunger, we could move beyond just commemoration and take action collectively to tackle the catastrophic hunger and famine currently being driven by conflict around the world? I support Concern’s campaign and urge everyone to sign the petition calling on world leaders to play their part to end conflict-driven hunger, ” Declan said.
Copies of the petition will be available to be signed at Saturday’s concert at the Town Hall Theatre and his concerts throughout March, listed here.
Over the last five years acute food insecurity – the most urgent form of hunger – has been increasing, and the single greatest driver is conflict. There are now 41 million people facing emergency levels of hunger. That’s more than eight times the population of Ireland.
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Declan O'Rourke. Photo:- Lawrence Watson
Courtesy of the situations in the Ukraine and Afghanistan, the need to protect people from conflict-driven hunger has been severely highlighted in recent months.
While conflict is typically associated with guns and weaponry, Concern’s Nothing Kills Like Hunger Campaign, shows that in most conflicts, children are more likely to die as a result of hunger and related diseases than fighting.
“In conflict zones around the world, hunger is being deliberately weaponised by warring parties, with crops and livestock destroyed, access to markets cut off, and civilians denied access to food,” Mr MacSorley said.
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Declan O'Rourke. Photo:- Lawrence Watson
Coinciding with Ireland’s term on the UN Security Council, Concern is urging the public to sign an open letter to global leaders calling on them to: Guarantee humanitarian aid to those on the brink of famine; break the cycle between conflict and hunger for good; stop hunger being used as a weapon of war.
“Humanitarian organisations have a key role in tackling hunger but we need global leaders to play their part if we are to break the cycle between conflict and hunger,” he said, urging the public to add their voices to the call on global leaders for greater engagement. The public can read and sign the letter at concern.net/nklh Concern will deliver the signed letter to members of the UN Security Council in October. Ireland is a member of the Council until the end of 2022.
Concern has produced a video “The Lucky Ones” to support the campaign:
