Enhancing partnerships to reach SDGs 1 and 2: The Global Alliance Against Hunger and Poverty

Written by Isabela Franciscon (Research Associate at UNRISD), Fábio Veras Soares (Director of International Studies at the Institute for Applied Economic Research - IPEA, Ministry of Planning and Budget of Brazil) and Mariana Balboni (Senior Programme Officer at UNRISD)

 

Setting the scene: the importance of partnerships to reach SDGs 1 and 2 

The adoption of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in 2015 signalled a potential shift towards achieving key developmental objectives, such as eradicating poverty and hunger, represented by SDGs 1 and 2, respectively. These two goals include targets such as expanding social protection coverage, ensuring access to basic services, ending malnutrition, doubling the income and productivity of smallholder farmers, and building resilience of vulnerable populations and agricultural practices (Stibbe and Prescott 2020; UNDESA n.d.).

Almost ten years later, despite some progress, hunger and poverty persist. There have been setbacks in SDGs 1 and 2, and other related SDGs, due to the consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic crises, and climate change. In 2022, an additional 23 million people fell into extreme poverty compared to 2019. Although global poverty level decreased, it remained higher compared to pre-pandemic trends. More worryingly, low-income countries had not yet bounced back to pre-pandemic levels (World Bank 2024; Aguilar et al. 2024).

Likewise, in 2023,  approximately 152 million more people faced food insecurity and malnutrition compared to 2019, with a total of 733 million people suffering from hunger (or one in 11 people globally); and 2.8 billion unable to afford a healthy diet in 2022 (FAO at al. 2024). In addition, social protection systems – which play an important role in preventing poverty and hunger – remain insufficient. Between 2015 and 2023, global social protection coverage increased by 9.6 percentage points, from 42.8% to 52.4%. However, in low-income countries, the increase was significantly smaller, rising by just 2 percentage points, from 7.7% to 9.7%. In lower-middle-income there was a rise of 11.5 percentage points, from 20.9% to 32.4%, during the same period (ILO 2024).

For bringing SDGs 1 and 2 back on track, enhancing partnerships is fundamental. In a global context  of limited resources – whether financial, technological, financial, or human – partnering mitigates resource misuse and fragmentation. Hence, when building partnerships, resource mobilisation and optimisation are key, making it imperative that stakeholders align interests and actions  to maximize outputs delivery (see figure 1). Furthermore, partnering offers a notable advantage, as the optimization of resources enables partnerships to deliver more when compared to the sum of individual efforts. (Stibbe and Prescott 2020).

 

Figure 1: Alignment of interests and actions to maximize outputs delivery

Source: retrieved from Stibbe and Prescott 2020: 12

 

The Global Alliance Against Hunger and Poverty

The Brazil G20 presidency motivation and proposal

Acknowledging the slowdown in progress towards achieving SDGs 1 and 2, the Brazilian presidency of the G20 (2024) has made tackling hunger and poverty a priority. Accordingly, it has proposed a taskforce to establish the Global Alliance Against Hunger and Poverty (hereafter the Alliance) to galvanise efforts to put these goals back on track. Recognizing the interconnectedness of the SDGs, Brazil also envisions boosting progress on other areas, such as reducing inequalities (SDG 10) and combating climate change and its impacts (SDG 13) (Watkins et al. 2024; G20 Brazil 2024 n.d. a; n.d. d).

In addition, SDG financing gaps just for Zero Hunger in low income and lower-middle income countries are estimated at between USD 10 billion to USD 56 billion (Watkins et al. 2024). The international development finance framework is small-scale focused, discouraging national ownership; and fragmented, implying high transaction costs Thus, there is a pressing need for greater commitment, enhanced partnering and strengthened resource mobilisation and optimisation (Watkins et al. 2024; G20 Brazil 2024).

Building on this recognition, the Alliance aims to foster coordinated efforts among governments, international organizations, the private sector, and civil society. By mobilizing diverse stakeholders, the Alliance seeks to create synergies that can overcome the barriers posed by fragmented approaches to development. This collective approach is crucial, as no single entity can address the multifaceted challenges of hunger and poverty in isolation.

Moreover, the Alliance aims to facilitate knowledge sharing and the dissemination of best practices, enabling countries to adopt scalable solutions that have been proven effective in other contexts. This is especially important in addressing both immediate humanitarian needs and long-term structural challenges, such as the effects of climate change on food security and livelihoods.

In this light, enhanced partnerships are not only a means of resource mobilization but also a vehicle for innovation and policy coherence. By working together, stakeholders can identify more efficient ways to deliver assistance, reduce redundancies, and ensure that efforts to combat hunger and poverty are aligned with broader development objectives, such as fostering resilience and promoting social inclusion. Ultimately, the main objective of the Alliance is to generate sustainable, inclusive growth and to drive forward global efforts to achieve the SDGs by 2030, particularly by addressing the root causes of hunger and poverty through coordinated, multi-stakeholder actions.

As a result of this collaborative effort, at the G20 ministerial meeting on July 24, 2024, held in Rio de Janeiro, the creation of the Alliance and its institutional structure was unanimously endorsed via the approval of four documents:

1. Foundational Document “United Against Hunger and Poverty”[1]
2. Template for the Individual Declaration of Commitment to the Alliance[2]
3. Terms of Reference and Governance Framework[3]
4. Criteria for the Reference Policy Basket[4]

The Alliance is set to be officially launched at the G20 Leaders’ Summit in November 2024, in Rio de Janeiro. Meanwhile, countries and stakeholders are invited to voluntarily join before the official launch by issuing tailored Statements of Commitment. The Alliance welcomes a diverse range of participants, including:

• Countries (note that adherence to the Alliance is open to all interested countries, rather than restricted to G20 members)
• International organizations
• Development banks
• Philanthropies
• Knowledge organizations (G20 Brazil 2024).

Figure 2 illustrates the Alliance’s web of voluntary commitments for partnerships. Note that the Alliance is based on three pillars: National, Financial Support, and Knowledge. Unlike other international initiatives, the Alliance will be supporting large-scale government-owned public policies, focused on the programme level (G20 Brazil 2024).

 A practical step-by-step guidance on how to join the Alliance can be found here.

 

Figure 2: Alliance operation at the global level – forming a web of voluntary commitments for partnerships

Source: retrieved from G20 Brazil 2024 n.d. b: 25

 

The Alliance’s functioning and partnering advantages

The Alliance will serve as a platform to connect (i) members seeking assistance for the implementation or scaling up of policy instruments that aim to fight poverty and hunger (SDGs 1 and 2) and (ii) partners willing to offer knowledge and financial resources. In other words, the Alliance will work as a matchmaker: once members request support, the Alliance staff will look for potential partners and facilitate negotiations (Ibid). Note that in the spirit of the SDGs there is no specialization within the Alliance, a country can request support and also offer support, particularly when sharing knowledge, expertise, and technology.

In this way, the Alliance offers a unique approach to reduce transaction costs, by leveraging a unified database for countries and stakeholders and, thus, simplifying the identification and connection of resource needs and opportunities (Ibid.). In addition, the Alliance differentiates itself by fostering the pooling of resources and, hence, enabling greater impact and efficiency compared to individual fragmented schemes.

Furthermore, the Alliance commits itself to fostering synergies with already existing initiatives and fora (Ibid.). This approach aligns with the broader international movement towards enhanced partnering and resource optimisation, setting an example of how to collaborate across sectors.

 

The Alliance’s Policy Basket

The Policy Basket (hereafter referred to as Basket) will be the core of the Alliance, constituting a set of curated effective policy instruments to fight poverty and hunger. Member countries of the Alliance will be able to select policy instruments from the Basket and implement them domestically assisted by members of the Financial Support and/or the Knowledge pillars.

The Basket is organized into two levels (see figure 3 for a schematic representation).

1. General policy instruments with a brief description of main features. They should be able to accommodate different country experiences
2. Country examples to highlight variations in design, implementation, and impacts (G20 Brazil 2024 n.d. c)

In turn, the policy instruments are organized in two sub-levels: ten broad categories (see below) and, under each broad category, a subset of policy instruments.

• Social protection
• Access to basic services
• Access to productive assets
• Access to infrastructure
• Access to credit and financial services
• Support to smallholder farmers
• Nutrition
• Integrated programmes
• Cross-cutting instruments
• Funding

 

Figure 3: The two levels of the Policy Basket

Source: retrieved from G20 Brazil 2024 n.d. c:7

 

For ensuring the effectiveness of the policy instruments and country experiences in the Basket  as well as the quality of the information provided,  there are five inclusion criteria that apply to both levels (more details about the criteria can be found here):

1. Well-defined policy instruments
2. Implementable or implemented by governments
3. Evidence base
4. Primarily reaching out to persons experiencing poverty and hunger
5. Contributing primarily to reach SDGs 1 and 2

The Basket is currently under refinement and curation by the G20 Brazil presidency, with the support of international organizations, and an official website is planned to be launched in November 2024. Member countries of the Alliance can also submit their own examples, which are being collected via a collaborative website. It should be noted that by submitting a country experience, a country commits to supporting another member country, within its means and capacities, that requires  developing similar public policies (G20 Brazil 2024 n.d. c; n.d. b).

 

socialprotection.org’s support to the Alliance

Recognizing social protection’s role in fight poverty, hunger, and other vulnerabilities, as well as to foster long-term sustainable development, in 2011 the G20 Development Working Group recommended the creation of a platform dedicated to social protection. In response to it, socialprotection.org was launched in 2015 and since then it has been fulfilling its mission to generate and share social protection knowledge, with a focus on low- and middle-income countries (Balboni et al. 2023).

In the context of the Alliance and in collaboration with the Institute of Applied Economic Research - IPEA (a government of Brazil think tank), socialprotection.org has been supporting the curation of the Basket, as well as the creation and maintenance of related websites. In August 2024, the platform signed a project with the government of Brazil, through its host, the United Nations Research Institute for Social Development, which strengthened its role as a stakeholder in the G20 Brazil 2024. socialprotection.org will be acting as a key partner in disseminating information about the Alliance through social media, events, and other channels, and in gathering and organizing the knowledge and materials produced by it.

The socialprotection.org will continue its collaboration with the Alliance, serving as a facilitator to share knowledge and build networks. The platform has consolidated experience on disseminating accessible and digestible information, and on promoting links between experts and policymakers and, thereafter, aligns itself with the Alliance’s goals (Ibid.).

 

Conclusion

In conclusion, the Alliance sets a valuable example of enhanced partnering for advancing  SDGs 1 and 2, while also catalysing progress towards other related goals, such as SDG 10, which focuses on reducing inequalities.  Its innovative approach – emphasizing country-owned initiatives and facilitating connections between those in need of support and those with resources – positions it as a pivotal player in international development. The international community is invited to join the Alliance’s efforts to combat hunger and poverty. Stay tuned to socialprotection.org for the Alliance’s next steps.

 

References

Aguilar, R.; Diaz-Bonilla, C.; Fujs, T.; Lakner, C.; Nguyen, M.; Viveros, M. and Baah, S. 2024. March 2024 global poverty update from the World Bank: first estimates of global poverty until 2022 from survey data. World Bank Blogs. Accessed on 13 Sep. 2024.

Balboni, M.; Carvalho, M. and Soares, F. 2023. Leveraging Knowledge Sharing for Social Protection. T20 Policy Brief. Accessed on 30 Aug. 2024.

FAO, IFAD, UNICEF, WFP and WHO. 2024. The State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World 2024 – Financing to end hunger, food insecurity and malnutrition in all its forms. Accessed on 13 Sep. 2024.

G20 Brazil 2024. 2024. Fact Sheet and How to Contribute. Global Alliance Against Hunger and Poverty. Accessed on 30 Aug. 2024.

G20 Brazil 2024. n.d. a Frequently Asked Questions. Accessed on 30 Aug. 24. 

G20 Brazil 2024 n.d.  b Global Alliance against Hunger and Poverty: Foundational Documents. Accessed on 30 Aug. 2024.

G20 Brazil 2024 n.d. c Guidelines for the Global Alliance against Hunger and Poverty Policy Basket. Accessed on 30 Aug. 2024.

G20 Brazil 2024 n.d. d Sherpa Track.  Task Force for a Global Alliance Against Hunger and Poverty. Accessed on 30 Aug. 2024.

ILO. 2024. World Social Protection Report 2024–26.  Universal social protection for climate action and a just transition. Accessed on 12 Sep. 2024.

Stibbe, D. and Prescott, D. 2020. The SDG Partnership Guidebook. A practical guide to building high impact multi-stakeholder partnerships for the Sustainable Development Goals. First edition. The Partnering Initiative and UNDESA. Accessed on 30 Aug. 2024.

United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UNDESA). n.d. Sustainable Development. SDG 17 Strengthen the means of implementation and revitalize the Global Partnership for Sustainable Development. Accessed on 30 Aug. 24.

Watkins, K., Nwajiaku-Dahou, K. and Kovach, H. 2024. Financing the fight against poverty and hunger - mobilising resources for a Sustainable Development Goal reset. ODI. Accessed on 30 Aug. 2024.

World Bank. 2024. Poverty overview. Accessed on 13 Sep. 2024

 

[1] “The Inception Document is the G20’s political testament that gives rise to the Alliance and articulates all its components” (G20 Brazil 2024 n.d. b).

[2] “The Statements of Commitment is the document to be used by countries or entities, such as national, regional and international organizations, development funds and banks, research centers, and technical assistance agents, to voluntarily become members or partners of the Alliance” (G20 Brazil 2024 n.d. b).

[3] “The Terms of Reference and Governance Framework describe the mission, objectives, guiding principles, decision-making bodies, and operational procedures of the Alliance” (G20 Brazil 2024 n.d. b).

[4] “The Global Alliance’s Policy Basket presents the objective criteria that determine what type of program or policy instrument can be included in it” (G20 Brazil 2024 n.d. b).