A multi-disciplinary team joins the Alliance’s mission to support countries and partners in turning global commitments into country-level action
As progress on hunger and poverty stalls, the Global Alliance has activated its Support Mechanism – a lean multi-disciplinary team of professionals. The team’s main offices are housed at the headquarters of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), officially inaugurated by H.E. Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, President of Brazil, Muhammad Yunus, Chief Advisor of Bangladesh, and Qu Dongyu, FAO Director-General in October 2025. The global team will also have a presence in Addis Ababa, Brasilia, Washington DC and Bangkok.
The Support Mechanism facilitates collaboration across the Global Alliance, working under the guidance of its Board of Champions, with a mandate to help members move from political ambition to concrete results by facilitating partnerships, supporting country-led programmes and promoting evidence-based solutions to inform action elsewhere. Leading the team is Renato Domith Godinho, a senior Brazilian diplomat who was endorsed by the Global Alliance Board of Champions in October 2025.
“The Support Mechanism is a small team ready to face a big challenge: facilitating convergence in the efforts of multiple actors and countries to end hunger and poverty at a time when confidence in international cooperation is waning,” Godinho said. “We believe that putting country priorities at the centre of development and aligning partners around them is of even more value in these difficult times. Wasting resources is no longer an option.”
A dynamic team
The Support Mechanism team comprises professionals with complementary expertise. Emilie Chazelle leads governance and global partnerships, ensuring coherence across the Alliance’s institutional architecture and membership. As Country Programmes Lead, Federico Spano, coordinates all efforts to support governments in shaping and advancing national initiatives aligned with Alliance priorities, with Marcelin Tonye Mahop spearheading this in Africa. Michael Riggs and Cristina Rapone oversee project coordination and reporting, focused on ensuring efficiency and coordination across the global team.
Emily Kitongo leads strategic communications, supporting transparency and visibility across the Alliance. Charlotte Bilo leads the curation of the Global Alliance Policy Basket and programmes in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC), with support from Craig Chibanda and João Pedro Dytz, who also support country-level partnerships in Africa and Latin America, respectively. Team operations are held together by administrative support from Francesca De Nicolo and Ilaria Pasquali.
Colin Andrews, Senior Advisor on Multilateral Finance Partnerships, and other incoming team members will lead the Washington DC-based “financial hub” of the Support Mechanism, critically working to align finance with country plans. Two additional team members based in Asia and the Pacific, and LAC are expected to join the team in the coming months.
With more than 200 members already engaged, the Global Alliance against Hunger and Poverty is a unique platform for collective problem-solving in a time of silos. The establishment of its Support Mechanism signals a shift into delivery mode, reinforcing the Alliance’s aim to turbocharge action against hunger and poverty.
