Mashat participates in Global Alliance Against Hunger launch in presence of Brazilian President

CAIRO - 26 July 2024: Egyptian Minister of Planning, Economic Development and International Cooperation Dr. Rania Al-Mashat, participated in the event to launch the Global Alliance to Fight Hunger and Poverty in Brazil. 

 

the Global Alliance to Fight Hunger and Poverty is an initiative adopted by the Brazilian presidency of the G20, and announced by Brazilian President Lula da Silva in India during the previous G20 summit, with the aim of mobilizing international efforts and coordinating joint work between the G20 countries and international institutions, with the aim of achieving the first and second goals of sustainable development.

 

The opening speech of the event was delivered by Lula da Silva, President of Brazil, and was also attended by the Secretary-General of the United Nations, Antonio Guterres, Alvaro Lario, President of the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), Qu Dongyu, Secretary-General of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), Catherine Russell, Executive Director of UNICEF, Cindy McCain, Executive Director of the World Food Program, Tedros Adhanom, Director-General of the World Health Organization, and many representatives of countries, governments and international financial institutions, including Ajay Banga, President of the World Bank Group.

 

Commenting on the announcement of the alliance, Dr. Rania Al-Mashat stressed that launching a global alliance to combat poverty and hunger enhances the ability of countries to implement sustainable policies to provide services to the lowest-income groups in light of the successive challenges facing a large number of countries that have undermined their ability to achieve food security and provide social protection for their citizens. 

 

Al-Mashat pointed out that the world has faced serious and complex challenges since the beginning of the Corona pandemic, through the Russian-Ukrainian war, and geopolitical tensions that cast their shadows on various countries of the world, in addition to supply chain crises and rising prices, adding that the partnership between the G20 and major international institutions and opening membership for various countries to join the Global Alliance to Combat Hunger and Poverty, places great hopes on the alliance to overcome global crises that threaten food security.

 

She further added that this will enable countries through financing, knowledge and technology to implement sustainable policies to implement development goals.

 

She noted that activating the objectives of the alliance contributes to mobilizing financial resources for countries suffering from limited financial space and their inability to provide the necessary funding for food security and social protection programs.

 

The World Bank Group announced its partnership with the G20 through the alliance to reach at least 500 million people suffering from food insecurity and the lowest income, in order to enable marginalized groups to increase their income, enhance resilience to climate change, and enhance the empowerment of women and girls.

 

The bank explained that through the International Development Association (IDA), financing will be made available to countries to be used to finance policies that combat hunger and poverty, through highly concessional financing and grants.

 

The alliance includes members of the G20, including the African Union and the European Union, in addition to countries and international organizations such as the Islamic Development Bank, the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean, the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank, the World Trade Organization, UNESCO, the Food and Agriculture Organization, the International Fund for Agricultural Development, the World Food Program, the World Health Organization, and others.

 

The Global Alliance seeks to mobilize funding and knowledge to implement policies and promote technology that contribute to reducing hunger and poverty in the world, in light of the increasing global challenges that raise hunger and poverty rates globally, especially low levels of funding; and it is scheduled to be officially launched during the G20 Leaders Summit next November.