CHRISTIAN AID has accused the G7 of “chasing headlines” with its £3.7-billion pledge to tackle global hunger, while Cafod described it as “a drop in the ocean” compared to the need.
The figure, which was given at the end of a three-day G7 summit in Germany this week, is significantly short of the latest UN World Food Programme (WFP) target of £18.2 billion. Last week, the WFP urged G7 leaders to “act now or the unprecedented levels of hunger we are seeing will only continue to rise”.
The head of global policy and advocacy at Christian Aid, Fionna Smyth, said on Tuesday: “The hunger crisis in the Horn of Africa is deteriorating quickly. Even though people across the region are on the brink of famine due to severe climate-induced drought and the war in Ukraine, world leaders have once again failed to act with the urgency and scale needed.”
She continued: “Just like the $7 billion committed by the G7 in the Famine Compact to end starvation just last year, there is no indication of where this year’s $4.5 billion [£3.7 billion] money is coming from, or when it will reach people desperately in need. Chasing headlines doesn’t save lives.
“Equally, world leaders must tackle the overlapping nature of the climate crisis and global hunger by delivering on new climate finance. If the COP27 summit later this year is going to truly tackle the climate crisis, we need more than hot air to address loss and damage.”
The head of policy at Cafod, Graham Gordon, agreed. “The money pledged to help is a drop in the ocean of what is needed,” he said. “Governments must act with the same urgency and generosity as they did responding to Ukraine, and must ensure funds reach local organisations rooted in the communities affected. Aid pledged through the UN and World Bank is also welcome, but it won’t reach frontline local responders unless deliberate steps are taken to ensure this happens.”
He continued: “The G7 summit also failed to address the flaws in our global food system. The G7 spend billions propping up our failing industrial food system, but to prevent future crisis they must shift this finance towards more diverse, local food systems that are more resilient to shocks.
“G7 countries also need to tackle the market failures that send food prices spiralling upwards, such as excessive speculation on food commodities and the lack of transparency by companies and investors on grain stocks.”
The war in Ukraine dominated the G7 agenda which ended on Tuesday with promises to increase the economic and political costs of the invasion to the Russian President, Vladimir Putin, and his regime. Disagreements emerged, however, including over the knock-on effects of capping oil and gas prices, which Germany argued could lead to a disastrous cut-off of Russian energy supplies to Europe.
The final communiqué said: “We will stand with Ukraine for as long as it takes, providing the needed financial, humanitarian, military and diplomatic support in its courageous defence of its sovereignty and territorial integrity.”