The number of the world's hungry has dipped slightly from its record high last year, but "we are continually reminded that the world's food systems are not working in ways that ensure food security for the most vulnerable members of our societies," UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said in his message on the Day, which falls on Saturday.

World Food Day is celebrated every year around the world on Oct. 16 in honor of the date of the founding of the Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) in 1945.

The Millennium Development Goal (MDG) of halving the proportion of hungry people in the world is a pillar for achieving all eight of the globally-agreed targets with a 2015 deadline, Ban said.

"When people are hungry, they cannot break the crippling chains of poverty, and are vulnerable to infectious diseases," the secretary-general said. "When children are hungry, they cannot grow, learn and develop."

This year alone, Ban said, millions have been pushed into hunger by the earthquake in Haiti, the drought in the Sahel and floods in Pakistan, while the twin food and financial crises continue to affect the world's most vulnerable.

He highlighted the need for global cooperation -- bringing together governments, intergovernmental organizations, regional and sub-regional bodies, business and civil society groups -- to combat hunger.

Xinhua