The G7 leaders meeting in Elmau, Germany, announced today that they will contribute an additional US$ 4.5 billion to help the world’s most vulnerable people avoid hunger and malnutrition.
The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) applauds this decision.
With more than 60 years of experience fighting hunger around the world, WFP is prepared to contribute to the solution of this global problem by collaborating with the Global Alliance for Food Security (GAFS), the Food and Agriculture Resilience Mission (FARM), and other projects.
A global hunger crisis of unprecedented scope is currently affecting the entire planet. From 135 million pre-pandemic to 345 million today, the number of people who are extremely food insecure has surged by more than 200 million in just two years.
Out of these, 45 countries and up to 50 million people are on the verge of hunger (IPC4). Particularly concerning countries are Ethiopia, Somalia, Yemen, South Sudan, and Afghanistan.
The crisis, which was sparked by a confluence of climatic shocks, COVID’s economic effects, rising food and fuel prices, and violence, has been made worse by the situation in Ukraine.
In this regard, the G7’s promise to maintain open commerce in food, fuel, and fertilisers—all essential commodities for the crisis-affected nations—encourages WFP.
The statement’s emphasis on bolstering domestic output and resilience-building in vulnerable nations is also to be applauded.
The entire globe is currently at a turning point. Either we tackle the challenge of serving urgent needs at scale while also supporting long-term resilience-building programs at scale, or we will face far more severe issues in the future.
The G7’s pledge from today, which brings their combined commitment to the issue of global food security to over US$ 14 billion this year, is a significant step in the right direction.