Beirut, 19 November 2024--To support the poorest and most vulnerable groups in the Arab region, the UN Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA) became a founding member of "The Global Alliance Against Hunger and Poverty", announced during the G20 Summit being held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
This move aligns with the Alliance's goals of establishing social justice and equality regardless of class, gender or ethnicity, and providing protection to all for, despite progress made, food security challenges remain a major concern for most Governments and societies. Beyond this, ESCWA is committed to support the Alliance's objectives with its unique set of integrated approaches and capacities, across areas like poverty measurement, social protection, and food security.
In joining the Alliance, which was established during a G20 ministerial meeting last July, ESCWA aims to accelerate efforts to eliminate hunger and poverty in a conflict world plagued by wars and conflicts, through a comprehensive array of policy measures.
"It is crucial for the world to stand united behind an integrated and coordinated approach that combines international, regional, national and local levels," ESCWA Executive Secretary Rola Dashti emphasized. She stressed "the need to support and accelerate efforts to eliminate hunger and poverty, while reducing inequalities to achieve sustainable development and advocate for just transition pathways".
The Alliance aims to provide sustained political drive to end hunger and combat poverty and facilitate the mobilization of local and international support, including public and private financial and knowledge resources, to enable the implementation of evidence-based approaches and policy instruments.
While ESCWA plays a role as an institutional member of the Alliance, specifically in enhancing South-South and triangular cooperation, it has also paved the way for the accession by some of its member States to the Global Alliance. It has convened a meeting of its Expert Group on Social Protection Reform in the Arab region with representatives from Brazil's Ministry of Social Development to familiarize them with the Alliance and how it will act as an interlocutor between Governments' need for financial and technical assistance and respective support provided by development partners and international actors.
So far, ESCWA has supported the accession of Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, the State of Palestine, Somalia, and Tunisia, in addition to Oman, which has expressed its readiness to join as well.
"This Alliance not only facilitates direct assistance from donors to beneficiaries, but also enables local mobilization and diverse financing methods, which attracts more donors to find solutions to specific needs." Dashti pointed out. "There is a close link between hunger and poverty. So, we need to tackle both together and do everything we can to save our world from them. Achieving this ambition will require strong cooperation between countries and partners, such as the Global Alliance Against Hunger and Poverty, to exchange knowledge and increase funding," she added.
