G20 Global Alliance against Hunger and Poverty Ministerial Meeting Opening and High-Level Session Statement (5 min)

His Excellency, President Lula of Brazil,

Excellences,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Dear Colleagues,

I wish to thank the people and government of Brazil for the warm welcome to Rio de Janeiro,

In particular, on behalf of FAO, I wish to commend President Lula for his personal commitment and leadership over a lifetime of fighting against hunger and poverty, proving to the world that it is indeed possible to achieve these critical objectives.

At first glance, the state of food security and nutrition in the world presents a daunting picture.

Looking at the global numbers estimated by SOFI, it appears that we are at a standstill, with global levels of hunger and food insecurity remaining at the same high levels for three consecutive years.

More than 730 million people worldwide faced hunger in 2023, and more than 2.3 billion were moderately or severely food insecure.

Without an immediate transformative change, it is projected that 580 million people will be hungry in 2030.

In addition, we are also not on track to achieving any of the global nutrition targets.

And rising rates of obesity present major challenges for the health and well-being of all age groups.

Beyond the global numbers, we can see encouraging progress in South America, and in sub-regions of Southern Asia, providing lessons that we can learn from as we go forward.

Hunger has decreased for 2 consecutive years in Southern Asia, as well as right here in South America where 5.4 million fewer people faced hunger in 2023 compared to 2021.

Within this region, Brazil made remarkable progress on lowering the prevalence of hunger from 4.1 percent in 2022, to 2.8 percent in 2023.

President Lula’s leadership and vision for a Brazil without hunger was crucial to bring about this achievement.

If South America continues this trend, it will be on track to achieve SDG2 by 2030.

Another optimistic sign is a decrease in the number of people who are unable to afford a healthy diet - although this is still out of reach for more than one third of the world’s population.

In Southern Asia, 44 million more people were able to afford healthy diets in 2022 compared to 2021.

In many countries, the number of infants receiving the protective benefits of exclusive breastfeeding is growing, and fewer children are affected by stunting and wasting.

This increases their chances of achieving full potential for growth and development.

But we also need to accelerate these processes in other regions of the world!

The SOFI 2024 assessment of progress towards achieving zero hunger reminds us that without the transformation of global agrifood systems we will continue to be off-track.

We need to build on the progress achieved in this region, and share this experience with other regions, especially Africa.

Africa remains the region with the largest estimated portion of the population facing hunger – about 20 percent, compared with 8 percent in Asia, and 6 percent in Latin America and the Caribbean.

And the prevalence of moderate or severe food insecurity stands at 58 percent - nearly double the global average.

To attain the scale of actions needed in all regions of the world, we need sufficient levels of financing to address food security and nutrition challenges.

Globally, the funding gap for transforming agrifood systems may reach several trillion US Dollars, with countries facing the highest levels of food insecurity often having the least access to financing.

This situation requires urgent attention from donors and the global financing community to ensure that the most vulnerable populations receive the support they need.

To address this, funders and agrifood systems actors should enhance coordination and focus efforts on areas of greatest need, considering local contexts and priorities.

Additionally, donors and international partners must become more risk-tolerant and engage in de-risking activities, recognizing the inherent uncertainties in agrifood systems.

Finally, there should be an increase in well-targeted blended financing, innovative financing instruments, and a greater reliance on public-private partnerships.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

I would like to commend Brazil for bringing food security to the center of the G20 discussions, at the highest political level, and for mobilizing support beyond the G20 to end hunger through the Global Alliance against Hunger and Poverty.

The Global Alliance will be key to bringing knowledge, expertise and success stories from the regions to the parts of the world where it is needed the most.

The Alliance will enable large-scale country-owned and country-led implementation of evidence-based policy instruments to eradicate hunger and poverty through its national, knowledge and financial pillars.

FAO is working closely with Brazil on hosting the support mechanism of the Alliance, and development of the Alliance’s policy basket.

We are committed to supporting its effective implementation, and to hosting the support mechanism at our headquarters in Rome.

Your Excellency, President Lula,

Thank you for your vision, and for launching this Global Alliance against Hunger and Poverty.

I wish to re-affirm our strong support – you can count on FAO as a key partner working together to achieve zero hunger and poverty,

Through the Four Betters: better production, better nutrition, a better environment and a better life for all – leaving no one behind.

I thank you.