As South Africa becomes the first African country to preside over the Group of 20, it is befitting to outline one of the most important achievements of the Brazilian Presidency of the Group. On 18th November, at the opening of the G20 Summit in Rio de Janeiro, president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva officially launched the ‘Global Alliance Against Hunger and Poverty’, a groundbreaking initiative to address these global scourges. 

The fight against hunger and poverty was chosen as a priority of the Brazilian G20 Presidency for a simple reason: provide innovative approaches to tackle the challenge of achieving Agenda 2030 Sustainable Development Goals 1 (Eradicate Poverty) and 2 (Zero Hunger) by the end of this decade. 

According to the 2024 Report on the State of World Food Insecurity (SOFI), around 733 million people faced hunger in 2023, with more than 2.8 billion people in unable to afford a healthy diet. Approximately 712 million people lived in extreme poverty in 2022, 23 million more than in 2019, with higher rates affecting the poorest countries, and children being twice as likely as adults to be living in extreme poverty. This dire situation was noted in the G20 inception document of the Global Alliance. 

With 148 founding members, including 82 countries, the African Union and the European Union, 24 international organizations, 9 international financial institutions and 31 philanthropic and non-governmental organisations (see list below), the ‘Global Alliance Against Hunger and Poverty’ innovates by establishing a platform for countries and institutions to share their best, most successful, evidence-based public programs to fight against poverty and hunger, and to galvanize collective action and foster synergies with other existing efforts to change this reality. The Alliance allows easier access to financing projects against poverty and hunger.

President Lula underlined that ‘as long as there are families without food on their tables, children begging in the streets, and young people hopeless for a better future, there can be no peace; we know from experience that a range of well-designed public policies such as cash transfers like the “Bolsa Família” program and nutritious school meals for children have the potential to end the scourge of hunger and restore hope and dignity for people.”

In 2024, the G20 members, along with partner countries and international organizations, worked together to draft the Alliance’s foundational framework. It is now expected that the Support Mechanism of the Alliance (secretariat) will be fully operational by May 2025. 

Mission and governance

The Alliance’s mission is clear: to eradicate hunger and poverty, reduce inequalities, and contribute to revitalized global partnerships for sustainable development by 2030. It prioritizes inclusive and just transitions, ensuring that no one is left behind. It operates through three core pillars – national, financial, and knowledge – designed to mobilise and coordinate resources for evidence-based policies tailored to the realities of each member country. Its principles are: Open membership and voluntary participation; Demand-driven, putting country needs first; Action-driven, focused on the “how”; Effective governance; Promoting development cooperation effectiveness; and Flexible network operation. The Alliance will convene regular Summits Against Hunger and Poverty, and establish a high-level Board of Champions to oversee its work. A lean and efficient technical body, the Global Alliance’s Support Mechanism, will be housed within FAO but function independently to provide strategic and operational support, including fostering country-level partnerships to implement anti-hunger and anti-poverty initiatives. 

Brazil has committed to financing half the Support Mechanism’s costs through 2030, with additional pledges from countries such as Bangladesh, Germany, Norway, Portugal, and Spain.

The 2030 Sprints 

Even before its formal launch in November, the Global Alliance showcased its successful approach by motivating and galvanizing early action and commitments through a large subset of its members across six priority areas within its policy basket. 

Dubbed the “2030 Sprints”, these announcements represent the widest ever collective attempt to turn the tide and finally end hunger and extreme poverty through evidence-based, large-scale policies and programs for uplifting the world’s poorest and most vulnerable populations. 

The announcements and commitments include the aim to reach 500 million people who benefited from cash transfer programmes in low and lower-middle-income countries until 2030, expanding high quality school meals to another 150 million children in countries facing endemic child poverty and hunger, and raising billions in credit and grants through multilateral development banks for implementing its programs. 

To adhere to the Global Alliance, countries and organizations must simply present a non-binding ‘Declaration of Commitment’, which can be reviewed at any time. More information about the Global Alliance is available at http://www.globalallianceagainsthungerandpoverty.org.  

As South Africa embraces the steering wheel of G20, let us work in the spirit of ‘Ubuntu’ to fight against hunger and poverty, and ensure that no one is left behind. After all, as President Lula pointed out in Rio, “it is up to us to take on the urgent task of ending this scourge that shames humanity.”

*Vivian Loss Sanmartin is the ambassador of Brazil to Namibia, founding member of the Global Alliance Against Hunger and Poverty, African Union.