Irish Foreign Minister Micheal Martin and United States Secretary of State Hilary Clinton will co-host a high-level political event on fighting world hunger. The United Nations Millennium Development Goals Summit kicked off on Monday.

Attending the two days of talks Irish Foreign Affairs Minister, Micheal Martin, and Overseas Development Minister, Peter Power, on behalf of the Irish Government, will demand an end to world hunger.

Mr Power's explained that the delegation will press for a focus on the eradication of extreme hunger and poverty.

“With just five years to the target date for achievement of the goals, this summit is an important test of our commitment to the world’s poorest people,” he said, speaking to the Irish Times.

“It is crucial that we candidly examine the uneven nature of our progress and the challenges we have yet to overcome.”

Statistics show that every day one billion people around the world go hungry. Leaders from around the world will be gathered in New York to review the eight Millennium Development Goals. They were agreed in 2000 and should be achieved by 2015.

The eight goals include wiping out extreme poverty and hunger, universal primary education, ensuring environmental sustainability, gender equality, cutting child mortality, combating HIV/Aids, malaria and other diseases.