G20-Germany-Hamburg-2017

Assuming responsibility
The G20
must
confront
the world’s
challenges
With sufficient funds, the humanitarian
community has the expertise and technical
capabilities to stave off famine and save
lives, writes David Beasley
As world leaders gather in Hamburg for the
G20 summit, it is vital they come together
with a renewed commitment to confront
the urgent and growing humanitarian
challenges the world now faces.
This task has never been more important, because
the challenges have never been so great. They will
be resolved only if the international community is
prepared to face them together.
When the World Food Programme (WFP) was set
up in 1961, it focused on delivering food aid in the
immediate aftermath of emergencies and natural
disasters. But today we are in a different world.
WFP has to deal with the consequences of protracted
conflicts and complex crises, which leave millions of
people not knowing where they will find
their next meal. Our task now is to
ogram
support families to feed themselves
today and to build the resilience
and self-sufficiency that will allow
them to thrive in the long term.
A new Marshall Plan
The Marshall Plan, launched in
the aftermath of the Second World
War, was intended to rebuild countries
shattered by war by investing in the
1961
World Food
Programme
set up
necessary conditions for peace and prosperity. Seventy
years later, the world needs a similarly ambitious plan
to confront the humanitarian crises we face.
There are 795 million people in the world who
know the pain of long-term hunger. There are also
154 G20 Germany: The Hamburg Summit • July 2017 G7G20.com