G20 Radio Bulletin 145 - Citizen Perspectives: fighting hunger effectively requires solutions from global civil society

International measures to effectively fight hunger face challenges such as lack of investment. The multiple global crises are also an obstacle, but the solutions could come from civil society. Listen to the special report and learn more.

Reporter: The United Nations (UN) estimates that 733 million people in the world are facing hunger and 2.8 billion people do not have access to healthy food. The World Food Programme (WFP) estimates that currently citizens of 16 states—including the Democratic Republic of Congo, Haiti, Myanmar, the State of Palestine and Ukraine—are facing humanitarian emergencies caused by conflicts that have deepened the shortage of adequate food and other conditions of vulnerability. 

In addition to the growing instability in several regions of the world, the climate emergency is also imposing severe restrictions on food production. In 2024, the UN issued a warning that even with the positive economic recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic, the number of people living in conditions of hunger, food insecurity, and malnutrition continues to rise in many countries. It is likely that the global nutrition goals will not be met by 2030, affecting mainly women, young people, and indigenous communities.

José Graziano da Silva, an internationally recognized agronomist specializing in food security and nutritional development, is the founder of Instituto Fome Zero (Zero Hunger Institute), which aims to preserve the history of Brasil's fight against hunger and promote global solutions. He argues that three obstacles prevent advances in global measures against hunger and poverty: the low priority of actions through international cooperation; the lack of available resources; and the challenges of implementing international public policies. 

José Graziano da Silva: Solving the issue of insufficient resources is not a long-term challenge; it is an urgent one. If we don't solve it, millions of people worldwide will continue to starve to death, but short-term solutions exist. First, debt relief for the poorest countries. Second, reducing interest rates on loans to these countries, or even exempting them from the rates. And third, increasing official development aid.

Reporter: Kiko Afonso is the executive director of Ação da Cidadania (Citizenship Action), a non-governmental organization founded by sociologist Herbert de Souza, known as Betinho, has been leading several actions to eradicate hunger and poverty in Brasil since the 1990s. 

He emphasized that civil society organizations can bring significant improvements to existing policies, based on practical experiences and especially in dialogue with communities in the territories. For Afonso, they operate in fundamental articulations to help governments to tackle problems. 

Kiko Afonso: One organization alone can't solve the problem of hunger. We need to fight for public policies to be effective. Any organization working on hunger, health, and human rights must always be aligned with a strong commitment to public policies that can definitively improve society's social issues.