AT the G20 Summit in Rio de Janeiro on November 18 2024, Brazil’s President Lula da Silva placed the issue of tackling rising levels of poverty and hunger at the top of the agenda. The Global Alliance Against Hunger and Poverty was launched to galvanise the international community to combat these serious problems facing humanity.

In recent years, the world has witnessed the largest increase in global poverty since the 1990s, with approximately 712 million people living in extreme poverty in 2022, an increase of 23 million compared to 2019. Hunger is also on the rise. Around 733 million people faced hunger in 2023 — over 152 million more people than in 2019.

It is important to recognise that the global battle to end this immense human suffering is winnable, as China’s recent successes in eradicating extreme poverty clearly demonstrate.