A Coalition of Action for Achieving Zero Hunger

The coalition aims to achieve ending hunger, in a sustainable and nutritious way. While doing this, it will generate co-benefits: meeting the Paris climate emission targets and doubling the income of 545 million food producers.

The coalition will be a tone-setter for the Summit in a number of ways. It reflects priorities emerging from the Food Systems Summit Member State dialogues such as supporting smallholder agriculture and finding resilient ways to emerge from the crisis. Second, it reflects a growing political will to address hunger, recent the G20 Matera statement being a prime example. Third, the coalition will be systemic, linking investments from farm to fork. Fourth, the coalition will be multistakeholder, aligning governments, agencies, civil society, and businesses with the 10 high-impact CERES2030 investment areas. Last, it will address hunger wherever it is found in all countries of the world, with a strong focus on where it represents the largest burden.

Science based evidence to prioritize this coalition

Driven by climate, fragility, conflict and now COVID-19, hunger is increasingly sharply. 650 million people were hungry in 2019, and the 2021 SOFI report has very recently announced that an additional 118 billion people have been added to this in 2020 alone. Conflict, climate and underinvestment in agriculture and value chains were driving hunger numbers up before 2020. Covid-19 has added another malevolent driver. Women and children are disproportionally affected, as they often eat least and last.

In 2020, a first ever road map to align actions to end hunger was published: the joint Ceres2030/ZEF/FAO Report. The report, delivered by 25 research organisations from as many countries, lays out an evidence-based pathway of 10 high impact investments on and off the farm that will reduce hunger from 650m to 200m by 2030 at a cost of an additional $33bn-$40bn a year until 2030, a doubling of current levels of expenditure.

The Ceres2030 and ZEF reports provide a rigorous, practical, and costed road map towards a world where hunger affects less than 2% of world’s population in 2030, making a powerful case for the value add of science, innovation and research.

Mechanisms of implementation

The coalition will do three things:

Advocate for hunger reduction, making a stronger and more tailored case for an increased focus on ending hunger that uses a systems approach.
Better align existing public and private sector resources for hunger reduction around the 10 high impact areas defined in the CERES2030 report and in high burden countries.
Add resource commitments towards the annual $33-40 billion target as outlined in CERES 2030. Achieved by: (a) working with stakeholders throughout the food, health, environment, and humanitarian systems to identify opportunities for climate, covid and conflict prevention/management and other resources at the national, regional and global levels toserve “double duty” by also ending hunger and (b) converting those opportunities to win-win commitments at upcoming Summits and other pledging opportunities.

Hunger is evident in all countries but the coalition will focus on countries where the burden is highest. Actions from private sector, funders and others will align with the national priorities emerging from the member state dialogues. Countries will work together with others to implement actions that have most priority for them and are aligned with science in terms of what generates highest impact.

Strategic partners

Member states that have confirmed support or expressed interest: Afghanistan, Argentina, Bangladesh, Botswana, Brazil, Canada, Cameroon, China, DRC, Ethiopia, Ghana, Guatemala, Germany, Hungary, Indonesia, Ireland, Kenya, Madagascar, Malaysia, Morocco, The Netherlands, Nigeria, Norway, Pakistan, Philippines, South Africa, USA, Zambia

NGOs/CSOs: Action Against Hunger, Alliance to End Hunger, Asian Farmers Association, BRAC, Concern, FOLU, Emergency Nutrition Network, GAIN, Grow Africa, Grow Asia, Mercy Corps, One Acre Fund, Partnership for a Healthier America, Save the Children, SDG2 Advocacy Hub, UPA DI, World Benchmarking Alliance, World Farmers Association

Private Sector: 25 companies have so far signed up to the Zero Hunger Coalition and the Private Sector Zero Hunger Pledge.

Multilateral/foundations: African Development Bank, AU, BMGF, CIFF, GAFSP, FAO, IFAD, Kofi Annan Foundation, UNITLIFE, WFP

Research: Alliance of Bioversity International and CIAT, CGIAR, IFPRI, IISD, ZEF
All to be confirmed.

Monitoring and Evaluation

Private Sector Pledge: regional institutions (Grow Asia, Grow Africa) as well as several global institutions will convert pledges to SMART commitments which will be tracked by the World Benchmarking Alliance. Discussions are ongoing.

Public Sector: UN agencies could use similar mechanisms for tracking country, donor and other commitments on aligning and adding resources in the 10 high impact areas, subject to country priorities.

Express your interest in joining this coalition

Focal point contacts

Guenter Hemrich
guenter.hemrich@fao.org