38 countries beat UN targets to halve proportion of hungry people by 2015

ROME – Thirty-eight countries have beaten a U.N.-imposed deadline of 2015 to cut in half the proportion of hungry people.

The U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization on Saturday recognized the 38 countries and urged those still working to meet the U.N. target to redouble efforts.

The U.N. General Assembly in 2000 established a set of "Millennium Development Goals" for countries. The No. 1 target was to eradicate extreme poverty and hunger, including halving the proportion of hungry people by 2015.

The 38 countries include: Algeria, Angola, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bangladesh, Benin, Brazil, Cambodia, Cameroon, Chile, Cuba, Djibouti, Dominican Republic, Fiji, Georgia, Ghana, Guyana, Honduras, Indonesia, Jordan, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Malawi, Maldives, Nicaragua, Niger, Nigeria, Panama, Peru, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Samoa, Sao Tome and Principe, Thailand, Togo, Turkmenistan, Uruguay, Venezuela and Vietnam.