World leaders join universities presidents in global mobilization for a zero hunger world

AUBURN, Ala., June 12, 2015 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Building on momentum from their launch at the United Nations, scores of university leaders from around the world are gathering in Washington, D.C., to implement the Presidents United to Solve Hunger (PUSH) action plan, which leverages the collective power of universities to address hunger and malnutrition.

Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernandez will address the gathering of university, government, international organizations, business and civil society leaders at the National Press Club. Nearly 80 universities spanning six continents are now members of PUSH, having signed the Presidents' Commitment to Food and Nutrition Security.

Auburn University's Hunger Solutions Institute in Auburn, Alabama, spearheaded PUSH to accelerate the fight against hunger through universities working collectively in the areas of teaching, research, outreach and student engagement. 

"PUSH is an effective mechanism for education, advocacy and engagement across national borders," said Auburn President Jay Gogue.

Hernandez has prioritized solving hunger and poverty in order to provide new hope to the youth of his country – many of whom flooded the shores of the U.S. last summer as illegal unaccompanied minors. He sees PUSH as a key partner in achieving these goals. Two Honduran universities are current PUSH members – Universidad Nacional de Agricultura and Zamorano University.

Other event speakers include Gogue; IFPRI Director General Shenggen Fan; Catherine Bertini, World Food Prize laureate, former executive director of WFP and professor at Syracuse University; Roger Thurow, author and senior fellow with the Chicago Council on Global Affairs and Peter McPherson, president of the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities and Patrick Webb, the Andrew McFarlane Professor of Nutrition at Tufts University's Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy.

"Ending hunger will not be achieved unless there is a strategy supported by knowledge and research," said IFPRI Director General Shenggen Fan, who will also address the group. "Research institutes and universities play a key role in this endeavor."

The June 17 meeting will be livestreamed on the National Press Club website at www.visualwebcaster.com/PUSH and on the websites of the International Food Policy Research Institute and the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities.

SOURCE Hunger Solutions Institute, Auburn University