Dublin - Former United Nations secretary general Kofi Annan warned on Thursday, World Food Day, that the global hunger crisis is as serious as the current financial crisis and must be tackled with the same urgency.

Speaking at the international Fighting Hunger Conference in the Irish capital, Dublin, along with economist Jeffrey Sachs and former UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Mary Robinson, Annan said the credit crunch should not be used as an excuse for stopping aid to developing countries.

"It is important for us to remind the politicians that the food crisis and the crisis of hunger is a real one and we should treat it with the same urgency and focus as we tackle the financial one," he said.

Annan said 10,000 children would die from malnutrition in the developing world on Thursday alone. Record food prices and persistent droughts around the world in recent years have made food supply chains in many countries extremely weak.

The former secretary general, who is the chair of the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa, levelled strong charges at developed nations, saying, "While national governments and international lenders scramble to inject hundreds of billions of dollars into failing banks, the developing world goes hungry."

Over 200 politicians, NGO leaders and business heads attended the conference, which aimed at highlighting the global hunger problem. It was hosted by Concern Worldwide, a charity.

"The financial crisis can not be an excuse for inaction," Annan said. "We can end hunger and poverty." (dpa)