Hunger is neither a natural human condition nor an unavoidable tragedy: it is the result of decisions made by governments and economies that have chosen to turn a blind eye to inequalities – or even encourage them.
The same world order that denies 673 million people access to adequate food also allows a privileged group of just 3,000 billionaires to control 14.6 percent of global gross domestic product (GDP).
In 2024, the richest nations contributed to the largest increase in military spending since the end of the Cold War, reaching $2.7 trillion that year. Yet they have not kept their own commitment: to invest 0.7 percent of their GDP in concrete measures to promote development in poorer countries.
Today we are experiencing situations not dissimilar to those 80 years ago, when the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations was founded. Unlike back then, however, we are not only experiencing the tragedies of war and hunger reinforcing each other, but also the pressing climate crisis. And the international order created to address the challenges of 1945 is no longer sufficient to address today’s problems.
Global governance mechanisms need to be reformed. We must strengthen multilateralism, create investment flows that promote sustainable development, and ensure that states are able to implement consistent public policies to combat hunger and poverty.
It is important to include the poor in public budgets and the rich in the tax base. This requires tax justice and taxation of the super-rich, an issue that we were able to include for the first time in the final declaration of the G20 summit in November 2024 under the Brazilian presidency. A symbolic but historic change.
We advocate for this practice worldwide – and we are implementing it in Brazil. Our Parliament is about to pass a comprehensive tax reform: for the first time in the country there will be a minimum tax on the income of the richest people, exempting millions of low-income earners from paying income tax.
During our G20 presidency, Brazil also proposed the Global Alliance against Hunger and Poverty. Although new, the initiative already has 200 members – 103 countries and 97 partner foundations and organizations. This initiative is not just about sharing experiences, but also about mobilizing resources and securing commitments.
With this alliance we want to enable countries to implement public policies that actually reduce inequality and ensure the right to adequate food. Policies that deliver quick results, as seen in Brazil after we made the fight against hunger a government priority in 2023.
Official data released just a few days ago shows that we have lifted 26.5 million Brazilians from hunger since the beginning of 2023. In addition, Brazil has been removed from the FAO hunger map for the second time, as outlined in its global report on food insecurity. A map to which we would not have returned if the policies introduced during my first two terms in office (2003-2010) and by President Dilma Rousseff (2011-16) had not been abandoned.
Behind these successes is a series of coordinated actions on multiple fronts. We strengthened and expanded our national income transfer program, which now reaches 20 million households and supports 8.5 million children aged six and under.
We increased funding for free meals in public schools, benefiting 40 million students. Through public food procurement, we have provided income for small farmers while providing free, nutritious meals to those who really need them. We also expanded free cooking gas and electricity to low-income households, freeing up space in family budgets to strengthen food security.
However, none of these measures are sustainable without an economic environment to drive them. When there are jobs and income, hunger loses its control. That’s why we implemented economic policies that prioritized wage increases, which resulted in the lowest unemployment rate ever recorded in Brazil. And to the lowest level of per capita household income inequality.
Brazil still has a long way to go before achieving full food security for its entire population. However, the results confirm that government action can indeed overcome the scourge of hunger. However, these initiatives depend on concrete shifts in global priorities: investing in development rather than war; prioritizing tackling inequality over restrictive economic policies that have led to massive wealth concentration for decades; and we rise to the challenge of climate change with people at the heart.
By hosting COP30 next month in the Amazon, Brazil wants to show that the fight against climate change and the fight against hunger must go hand in hand. In Belem, we aim to adopt a Declaration on Hunger, Poverty and Climate that recognizes the highly unequal impacts of climate change and its role in exacerbating hunger in certain regions of the world.
I will also bring these messages to the World Food Forum and the meeting of the Council of Champions of the Global Alliance Against Hunger and Poverty, events I will be attending today, the 13th, in Rome, Italy. These are messages that show that change is urgent and possible. For humanity, having created the poison of hunger against itself, is also capable of creating its antidote.
The views expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect the editorial stance of Al Jazeera.
