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Brazilian President Lula da Silva in conversation with his wife Rosangela da Silva, during the meeting in Rio recently when the alliance against hunger and poverty was presented.
1 / 2Photo: Bruna Prado/AP/TT
In the fight against hunger and poverty, Brazil calls for action – by starting a brand new global alliance. The alliance will work to improve the lives of the many millions of people affected worldwide.
Famine is nothing less than “nutritional apartheid”. The words are Brazilian President Lula da Silva’s, who is taking the lead on what he describes as one of humanity’s greatest challenges, reports CNN Brasil.
– This is one of the most important moments in my third term, says Lula according to the channel.
Representatives of the UN, the banking world, Brazilian ministers and international delegations all gathered at a meeting in Rio earlier this summer, when Lula presented the new initiative.
Extreme weather makes it worse
The “Hunger Alliance” must collect and mobilize resources and set up strategies to deal with the unfair distribution of resources. The alliance is also seen as a way for Brazil to profile itself and gather support for the country to host the next G20 summit in November, AP writes. It is also said to send an important signal within the G20 – which is made up of the world’s richest nations.
The Brazilian initiative takes place at a time when hunger is increasing in the world. This is largely due to extreme weather that affects agriculture, according to the aid organization We effect.
Ending extreme poverty and famine by 2030 is one of the sustainability goals set by the UN. But the work is slow.
Last year, around 733 million people were affected by famine. This is according to a recent report from the UN Food Program (WFP), AP states. This corresponds to one in eleven people in the world and one in five in Africa.
Matter of heart for the president
The Brazilian government hopes that around a hundred countries will participate in the alliance, which will be formally launched at the G20 meeting in November.
And for the Brazilian president, himself raised in poor conditions in Pernambuco in northeastern Brazil, fighting poverty is a matter of the heart.
– We are now taking a decisive step to once and for all put this item at the top of the international agenda, says Lula.