G20 leaders, on Monday, inaugurated a Global Alliance Against Hunger and Poverty during the opening session of the 19th Heads of State and Government Summit of the Group of 20 (G20) in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

The alliance signed by all member countries empowers a Task Force to implement practical activities between 2025 and 2030 to accelerate the elimination of hunger and poverty reduction.

President Luiz Lula da Silva said the alliance, which was pre-launched in July, already had the support of more than 80 countries, in addition to dozens of government and civil society organisations.

He said the goal of the global alliance was to gather funds and knowledge towards implementing public policies and social technologies, which have proven effective in reducing global hunger and poverty.

He added that throughout the first half of Brazil’s G20 presidency, discussions were held with G20 countries and other key partners to present the operation, its pillars and the general lines of governance.

He explained that UN institutions such as the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) and the World Food Programme (WFP) also addressed these issues.

But he said Brazil convinced its peers that a new initiative was necessary to accelerate investments.

Quoting Brazilian physician and nutritionist Josué de Castro (1908-1973), Da Silva stated, “Hunger and poverty are not the result of scarcity, but a biological expression of social ills.”

The president highlighted that the world produced almost 6 billion tons of food yearly while spending $2.4 trillion on military spending.
He said international financial institutions and national development banks had also joined the initiative.

According to Mr Da Silva, the world is now worse than in 2008, when the G20 took a leading role in facing the global economic crisis.

He mentioned the number of armed conflicts around the world, the climate emergency, social inequalities, and the fact that 733 million people were going hungry in the world, according to the FAO.

(NAN)