Brazil and Spain elected as Co-Chairs of the Board, which will keep momentum going on the fight against hunger and poverty.
The first meeting of the Board of Champions of the Global Alliance Against Hunger and Poverty, held in Rome on February 11th, was a key step in making the Alliance fully operational. Hosted by IFAD, the meeting formally established the Board, enabling the Alliance to move forward in a more structured and coordinated way and setting the stage for its work in the coming months.
Minister of Social Development Wellington Dias set the tone for the work ahead with somber words: “Recent announcements of cuts to official development assistance programs and budgets have caused consternation within the international community. The challenges continue to grow, yet the means to address them are shrinking. With so many cuts and so many challenges, we can no longer afford to waste a single dollar on redundant, fragmented, or ineffective activities. The Global Alliance Against Hunger and Poverty arrives at precisely this moment, offering an alternative to a tired aid model that, instead of building national capacities to implement lasting, large-scale programs, ends up creating and perpetuating dependency.”
Invited as a special guest to the meeting’s opening alongside IFAD’s President Alvario Lario, Brazil’s First Lady Janja da Silva emphasized the relevance of the Global Alliance as the hallmark of Brazil’s G20 presidency, which ended in November 2024. “This first meeting of the Board of Champions is a momentous occasion, as you are helping to realize President Lula’s vision,” she said, highlighting the role of the Alliance in addressing the plight of women, who are often those most affected by hunger and extreme poverty, and the importance of keeping the Alliance’s policy basket in the core of the initiative’s work: “the policy basket is a fundamental tool to ensure that actions are effective and targeted to those who need it most,” said the First Lady.
In his opening remarks, IFAD President Alvaro Lario emphasized the unique qualities of the Global Alliance, notably its focus on empowering countries to implement their own policies and programs, tailored to the specific needs of their most vulnerable populations. Lario highlighted the participation of major global financial institutions, such as the World Bank, the Development Bank, and the BNDES, and underscored IFAD’s commitment to providing financial support and knowledge resources to maximize the impact of the Alliance’s initiatives.
The Allance’s Board of Champions, which had so far been named ad interim, was now formalized, with its membership formally instated. The Board also elected its two Co-Chairs, Minister of Social Development, Wellington Dias, from Brazil and State Secretary for International Cooperation, Eva Granados, from Spain. The Board also elected six Vice Chairpersons, who, alongside the Chairs, will compose the Board’s Core Group to provide direct supervision to the Alliance’s activities. This is the composition of the Core Group as elected by the Board for a one-year term:
Co-Chairpersons
- Minister of Social Development and Assistance, Family and Fight Against Hunger, Wellington Dias (Brazil)
- Secretary of State for International Cooperation, Eva Granados (Spain)
Vice Chairpersons
- Dr. Li Xin, Deputy Director General, International Poverty Reduction Center (China)
- Rajib Kumar Sen, Programme Director for SDGs, NITI Aayog (India)
- Dr. Lynett Ochuma, Director for Social Development- State Department for Social Protection and Senior Citizen Affairs (Kenya)
- Ricardo Victória, Deputy General Director for Foreign Policy, Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Portugal).
- Melinda Bohannon, Director General for Humanitarian and Development, FCDO (UK)
- Even Stormoen, Senior Advisor, Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Norway)
The members of the Board of Champions also approved the proposal to invite Qatar to host the Global Alliance Against Hunger and Poverty Summit in November 2025, in parallel with the United Nations World Summit on Social Development in Doha. In addition, they also approved the proposal to institute the Global Alliance Goodwill Ambassadors who will complement the outreach efforts of the Board of Champions and Support Mechanism.
Members were updated on the progress to establish the Alliance’s Support Mechanism, its operational arm, to be hosted by FAO, a process that will take a few months to conclude. Not disposed to wait idly for that, the Champions discussed and agreed on a number of steps to:
- fast track program implementation planning with select countries to demonstrate the Alliance’s approach, taking onboard the results of the Sprints 2030 process;
- promote improved alignment in programming and delivery by the Alliance’s members for more effective results at country-level;
- Embedding resilience-building programs in the Alliance’s policy basket, such as adaptive social protection and support to climate resilient smallholder agriculture, in national climate strategies, most particularly in Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), which are due a review in UNFCCC’s COP30, to be hosted by Brazil in November 2025.
Finally, Champions agreed to help leverage a number of key international events in 2025, including the UN Financing for Development summit in Seville, the World Social Summit in Doha, the different G20 tracks in South Africa, and the COP30 in Belém, among others, to push for convergence on the Alliance’s goals and approach, as well as enabling better structural global conditions for countries to implement anti-poverty programs for their populations.
About the Global Alliance Against Hunger and Poverty
The Global Alliance Against Hunger and Poverty aims to support and accelerate efforts to eradicate hunger and poverty, while reducing inequalities and championing sustainable, inclusive, and just transition pathways.
The Alliance operates through three main pillars – national, financial, and knowledge. Facilitate mobilization and improved alignment of domestic and international support to enable large-scale country-owned and country-led implementation of evidence-based programmes and policy instruments, especially by countries most affected by hunger and extreme poverty.
