Madbouly praised Qatar for hosting the summit and commended Brazil and Spain for their joint leadership of the coalition, describing global hunger and poverty as “among the most pressing challenges of our time.”
He cited UN estimates showing that more than two billion people worldwide suffer from food insecurity, while one in five Africans experiences hunger daily.
The prime minister noted that October’s international peace summit in Sharm El-Sheikh aimed to “re-anchor peace and stability in the Middle East and launch recovery and reconstruction in Gaza.”
He announced that Egypt plans to host an international conference on early recovery, reconstruction, and development in Gaza, inviting all global partners to take part.
Madbouly linked hunger and poverty to broader global imbalances, warning of “high debt levels, declining development aid, and limited access to concessional finance.”
Addressing these issues, he said, requires “an urgent overhaul of the global financial system and more equitable economic governance.”
He also highlighted Egypt’s national efforts to reduce poverty, citing two key initiatives: the Takaful and Karama cash-transfer programme, which supports more than seven million citizens each month, and the presidential Decent Life project, which he described as “the most ambitious rural development scheme in Egypt’s history,” benefiting over 60 million people.
Madbouly outlined Egypt’s measures to enhance food security, noting the completion of a national silos project that added 1.5 million tons of storage capacity through the construction of 50 new silos across 17 governorates. This has raised the country’s total strategic wheat reserve to more than six million tons.
He also announced two new partnerships: the Luxor Coordination Centre, established with the World Food Programme to boost innovation and resilience in Upper Egypt, and cooperation with the UN Food and Agriculture Organization to set up a global grain storage hub in the Suez Canal Economic Zone.
The Global Alliance Against Hunger and Poverty (GAHP) was launched in late 2024 under Brazil’s G20 presidency to accelerate global efforts to eradicate hunger and extreme poverty.
Announced by President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, the alliance comprises more than 140 members, including governments, international organizations, development banks, and philanthropic foundations.
It is co-chaired by Brazil and Spain, with operational support provided by the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) in Rome.
The initiative aims to revive global commitment to the UN Sustainable Development Goals, particularly Goal 1, "No Poverty," and Goal 2, "Zero Hunger," at a time when progress has stalled and food insecurity is on the rise.
According to UN data, over two billion people around the world currently face some level of food insecurity, while nearly one in five Africans goes hungry each day.
Short link: