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29.06.2017 | Press Release

G20 Summit in Hamburg

Welthungerhilfe: States must fulfill their responsibilities and do more to fight hunger

Eine Frau wässert ein Feld in Tulear/Madagaskar
Die Welthungerhilfe fordert: Staaten müssen ihrer Verantwortung gerecht werden und Hunger stärker bekämpfen. © Toni Haddad
Simone Pott Team Communications

In view of today’s preparatory meeting between European heads of state and government for the G20 summit in early July, Welthungerhilfe would like to encourage the participants to fulfil their responsibility for sustainable development. “The G20 are an informal but important club. Their share of the world economy amounts to 85% overall, and they account for 80% of all international agricultural trade. At the same time, they are responsible for 80% of all CO2 emissions. Due to their political, economic and military power, they have a great responsibility for all of humanity. They must fulfil this responsibility at the summit,” stresses Baerbel Dieckmann, president of Welthungerhilfe.

Welthungerhilfe promotes the concrete support of small farmers rather than of industrial agriculture. Small farmers produce the majority of food, and yet three out of every four starving people live in rural areas. Necessary measures include coherent agricultural and trade policies which do not destroy the successes of development cooperation. At the same time, it is urgently necessary to establish a new financing fund to provide funds to affected countries before disaster strikes. Good early warning systems can predict many such disasters but can do little to mitigate the consequences. This holds true for the acute famine in Africa and Yemen.

Marshall plan with Africa

In addition, a partnership with Africa should acknowledge the priorities set by African states, including education, health and rural development. “Africa needs private investors, but they will not be able to solve the problems in Africa on their own. It is good that the partnership with Africa is on the agenda for the summit, but the fight against hunger should not be overlooked,” says Dieckmann. The new partnership should not be reduced to quickly removing the causes of refugee and migrant displacements, since the states with the most refugees in Africa are also some of the most fragile countries.

Welthungerhilfe is represented in the press tent at the G20 summit in Hamburg. Tel: 0178 / 3700129

Welthungerhilfe is one of the largest private aid organisations in Germany; politically independent and non-denominational. It is fighting for ‘Zero Hunger by 2030’. Since its establishment, more than 8,500 overseas projects in 70 countries have been supported with 3.27 billion euros. Welthungerhilfe works on the basic principle of help for self-help: from rapid disaster relief to reconstruction and long-term development cooperation projects with national and international partner organisations.

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