UNITED NATIONS, Oct 16: The UN on Thursday sought to draw world’s attention to hunger which affects millions daily and kills a child every six seconds.

“This year’s World Food Day comes at a time of crisis,” Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said in his message for the occasion. “Global financial turmoil is exacerbating concerns about rising food and fuel costs, which have already driven 75 million people deeper into the abyss of hunger and poverty.”

Even before prices started rising, 800 million people were going to sleep hungry every night, the secretary-general pointed out. And now, with energy costs rising and the price of food having more than doubled in the past year alone, an additional 100 million people could be pushed into hunger and poverty.

“These are life-and-death matters that we must confront with serious thought and resolute action,” he said and called upon governments, organisations and citizens to forge meaningful partnerships to overcome these challenges so the world could ultimately, usher in a world free of hunger and poverty.

The head of the UN World Food Programme agreed that at a time when the world’s attention was consumed by the financial crisis, it was appropriate to focus on the global hunger crisis.

“Rapidly rising food shortages, dramatic increases in fuel costs, and profound changes in climate conditions conspired this year to bring new dimensions of suffering and hardship to the poor, depriving almost one billion people of the food they need to live a healthy life,” WFP executive director Josette Sheeran said.