“Hunger is the most degrading of human deprivations” 

 

– Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva at the announcement of the G20 Global Alliance Against Hunger and Poverty.



About the Global Alliance Against Hunger and Poverty

 

On July 24, two key events took place in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil:

These two moments underscore the urgency for action ahead of the November G20 Summit. The world is off-track to achieve the SDGs, including the global goals to end extreme poverty (SDG1) and to end hunger and all forms of malnutrition (SDG2).

According to the 2024 SOFI Report, approximately 733 million people faced hunger, with 1 in 11 people worldwide and 1 in 5 people in Africa affected. Child hunger and malnutrition are at their worst in generations: 148.1 million children under five are stunted and 45 million children wasted, the most life-threatening form of malnutrition that will have devastating life-long consequences for the health and well-being. The report warns that more countries are off track than on track to achieve the seven global nutrition targets as the double burden of malnutrition continues to increase unchecked.

These two moments underscore the urgency for action ahead of the November G20 Summit. The world is off-track to achieve the SDGs, including the global goals to end extreme poverty and to end hunger and all forms of malnutrition.

According to the 2024 SOFI Report, approximately 733 million people faced hunger, with 1 in 11 people worldwide and 1 in 5 people in Africa affected. Child hunger and malnutrition are at their worst in generations: 148.1 million children under five are stunted and 45 million children wasted, the most life-threatening form of malnutrition that will have devastating life-long consequences for the health and well-being. The report warns that more countries are off track than on track to achieve the seven global nutrition targets as the double burden of malnutrition continues to increase unchecked.

Nearly one-third of the global population—2.33 billion people—face food insecurity. In Africa, 58% of the population faces extreme food insecurity. Acute food insecurity reached a historic high of 281.6 million people across 59 countries, and 36 million people in 39 countries were on the brink of famine.

Economic barriers further exacerbate these challenges. The World Bank estimates that COVID-19 increased extreme poverty in the world from 8.9 percent in 2019 to 9.7 percent in 2020 for the first time in decades. An additional 23 million people were pushed into extreme poverty for a total of 712 million people in 2022. The poorest countries, and children were disproportionately affected. It is estimated that 2.83 billion people are unable to afford healthy diets in 2023 and approximately 30% of women globally are experiencing moderate to severe food insecurity.

Humanitarian needs are escalating, with nearly 300 million people, including 1 in 5 children affected by conflict, requiring assistance in 2024. Additionally, displacement due to food crises has surged, impacting over 90 million people, with a significant portion being internally displaced.

The global food crisis is driven by a combination of conflict, economic shocks, climate extremes and persistent poverty and inequality. If current trends continue, in 2030 about 582 million people – half of them in Africa – will be chronically undernourished. Immediate and comprehensive actions to address these drivers and the financing to scale up interventions to save lives, build resilience and secure the future are essential to reverse the trend in the countries most affected and put the world back on track to end hunger by 2030.

The Global Alliance’s establishment marks a pivotal moment in the global effort to eradicate hunger and poverty. The initiative is a shared responsibility, extending beyond Brazil and the G20 to include all nations and stakeholders. The Global Alliance seeks to enhance global partnerships, mobilize essential resources, as well as disseminate knowledge and successful policies and practices to combat hunger and poverty on a worldwide scale.

The Brazilian government has extensive expertise and received international acclaim for their poverty-reduction ventures, such as the Bolsa Família conditional cash programme for stabilizing household incomes. The Global Alliance’s Policy Basket draws from Brazil’s experience and other best practices and approaches. The types of policies and programs that are included are determined by objective criteria: 1) Well-defined policy instruments, with a clear scope; 2) Implemented/implementable by governments; 3) Evidence-based; 4) Primarily reaching out to people persons experiencing poverty and hunger; 5) Contributing primarily to reach Sustainable Development Goals 1 and 2.

This Global Alliance, anchored in the principles of food security and nutrition, represents the core of Brazil’s G20 presidency agenda to eliminate hunger and extreme poverty by 2030. It offers a tremendous opportunity to get back on track to achieve SDG1 and 2, with benefits for the broader 2030 Agenda.

The Global Alliance will be officially launched in November at the G20 Summit. Between now and then, it is critical to raise awareness about and build support for the Global Alliance and to urge world leaders to formally join. Countries can join the Global Alliance by submitting a Statement of Commitment detailing how a state plans to support the initiative to the Brazilian G20 Presidency – find a template document here.

This would demonstrate strong collective and national level political will to elevate and prioritize ending extreme poverty, hunger and malnutrition, which is key to mobilizing the financing that is needed, including through the World Bank’s IDA21 Replenishment in December and the Nutrition for Growth Summit in France in March 2025.

To demonstrate the support of civil society, we hope you will sign on to this open letter calling on world leaders to support and join the Global Alliance by submitting a Statement of Commitment:

Open Letter

Dear UN Member States,

We, the undersigned 113 non-governmental organizations, work with frontline communities and witness on a daily basis the catastrophic effects of the unprecedented global food crisis that continues unabated. We are alarmed that there has been no progress against hunger, malnutrition and extreme poverty since 2017 and that, in Africa, the situation is worsening. Without urgent action, we will not achieve the Sustainable Development Goals, especially the global goals to end poverty and hunger, with an estimated 582 million people hungry at the 2030 deadline. We risk falling further behind as a result of unpredictable and intensifying conflict, climate change, and economic shocks.

We commend President Lula and the Brazilian Presidency of the G20 for focusing attention on the crisis of hunger and poverty, especially among vulnerable communities, women and children. The announcement of the establishment of the Global Alliance Against Hunger and Poverty at the July G20 Ministerial Meeting is a significant step towards getting the world back on track to end extreme poverty and hunger by 2030. The initiative’s shared responsibility, extending beyond Brazil and the G20 to include all nations and stakeholders, has potential to enhance global partnerships, mobilize essential resources and knowledge to combat hunger and poverty.

We urgently call on you to join Brazil in putting hunger and poverty at the center of your priorities, starting with officially joining the Global Alliance. Doing so will support Brazil’s bold leadership and will align the coordination, collaboration, financing and know-how needed to accelerate progress against hunger and poverty. Now is the time to act to prevent unnecessary suffering and invest in improving food security and nutrition, boosting rural livelihoods, ensuring equity for smallholder food producers, and workers across agrifood value chains, strengthening social protection systems, building resilience to food crises, and transforming food systems to deliver healthy diets equitably and sustainably.

We have a short window to turn things around. As civil society, we stand ready to engage communities on the frontlines of climate change and food crises, share our expertise and hold all stakeholders, including ourselves, accountable.

We call on: 

  • All leaders make a statement of commitment to the Global Alliance. 
  • G20 leaders to deliver a robust 21st Replenishment of the World Bank’s IDA, to support the implementation of the Global Alliance.
  • National governments to increase funding for food security, nutrition and social protection in national budgets alongside sufficient funding for climate adaptation, and to make new policy and funding commitments at the 2025 Paris Nutrition for Growth Summit and other global pledging moments.
Signed

Ação da Cidadania, Brasil

Action Against Hunger, Ethiopia

Alabaster International, United States of America

Alliance Nationale Contre la Faim, Mali

Alliance to End Hunger, United States of America

ASAPSU, Côte d’Ivoire

Associação Águas do Nordeste, Brasil

Associação de Assistência à Mulher, ao Adolescente e a Criança Esperanca, Brasil

Association for Farmers Rights Defense, Georgia

Association For Promotion Sustainable Development, India

Access to Nutrition Initiative, Switzerland

Banka Earth Foundation, India

BasicNeeds, Ghana

Baylor University, United States of America

Bread for the World, United States of America

Brookings Institution, United States of America

Canadian Foodgrains Bank, Canada

Catholic Relief Services, United States of America

Centre for Communities Education and Youth Development, Ghana

Centre for Ecological and Community Development Deve, Nigeria

Chemonics, Guatemala

Christian Leaders’ Training College, Papua New Guinea

Church World Service, United States of America

Cohesion and Society Rehabilitation Ltd, Uganda

Coletivo Literário Tereza de Benguela, Brasil

Comida do Amanhã Institute, Brazil

Community And Family Aid Foundation, Ghana

Concern Worldwide, Ireland

CRIOLA, Brasil

DISABILITY PEOPLES FORUM UGANDA, Uganda

Eastern Africa Farmers Federation, Kenya

EAT, Norway

Edesia Nutrition, United States of America

Eleanor Crook Foundation, United States of America

Espaco terapeutico e de educacao popular Cura da Alma, Brasil

Forum Nacional de Segurança Alimentar e Nutricional dos Povos de Matriz

Africana, Brasil

Food and Land Use Coalition, Global

Fundación Paraguaya, Paraguay

G20 Interfaith Forum Association, United States of America

Gaia Social, Brazil

GEPPAAS/UFMG, Brasil

Ghana Co-operative Agriculture producers and Marketing Association, Ghana

Grupo de Institutos, Fundações e Empresas, Brasil

Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition, United Kingdom

Global Citizen, United States of America

Global Health Advocates, France

Global Shield, United States of America

Grand Challenges India at BIRAC, India

Green Economy Coalition /IIED Europe, Spain

Greenate, Namibia

Grupo de pesquisa sobre fome e relações internacionais, Brazil

Health Promotion Tanzania, Tanzania

Helen Keller International, United States of America

HelpAge Deutschland, Germany

HIMAYA DAEEM AATAA, Lebanon

Humane Society International, Brasil

Hungry for Action, United Kingdom

Instituto Árvores Vivas para Conservação e Cultura Ambiental, Brasil

Instituto Comida e Cultura, Brasil

Instituto Dara, Brasil

Instituto de Defesa de Consumidores, Brasil

Instituto Regenera, Brazil

International Medical Corps, Uganda

International Rescue Committee, United States of America

Jeunesse du Monde en Action, France

Joint Learning Initiative on Faith and Local Communities, United States of America

Kamukunji Paralegal Trust, Kenya

Lanka Fundamental Rights Organization, Sri Lanka

Maison Future Récolte, D.R. Congo

Micah Australia, Australia

Micronutrient Forum, United States of America

Movimento Baía Viva, Brasil

Movimento Urbano de Agroecologia MUDA, Brasil

Núcleo Especial de Atenção à Crinça, Brasil

OAB GUARULHOS, Brasil

One Acre Fund, United States of America

ONG ADIG, Mauritanie

Paropakar Primary Health Care Centre PPUK, Nepal

Plan International, India

Plataforma CIPÓ, Brazil

Princess of Africa Foundation, South Africa

Quiva fillas Educational Foundation, Nigeria

Real Food Systems Youth Network, Switzerland

REDE PENSSAN, Brasíl

Refood, Portugal

REPAM-BRASIL, Brasil

Restless Development Uganda, Uganda

Results Canada, Canada

Save the Children International, Global

Scaling Up Nutrition Civil Society Network, United Kingdom

SDG2 Advocacy Hub, United Kingdom

Shamba Centre for Food and Climate, Switzerland

Sharing Strategies, United Kingdom

Soroptimist International, United Kingdom

Soulbeegood, Brasil

Suruwat, Nepal

TB People Nepal, Nepal

The Consortium of African Youth On Climate Change (CAYACC), Zambia

The Ishola Empire Incorporated, United States of America

The ONE Campaign, Ireland

The People’s Matrix Association, Lesotho

The Power of Nutrition, United Kingdom

Union des Amis Socio Culturels d’Action en Developpement, Haiti

UNICEF, Guinee

United Against Malnutrition & Hunger, United Kingdom

United Nations Association of the National Capital Area, United States of

America

United Social Welfare Society, Pakistan

University for Development Studies, Ghana

WACI Health, Ethiopia

World Medical Association, France

World Vision International, United Kingdom

WWF-Brasil, Brasil

Youths Enterprise Development and Innovation Society, Nigeria

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