Development Ministerial Meeting in Rio de Janeiro highlights progress and goals to fight hunger, inequality, and climate change

This Monday (22) and Tuesday (23), the G20 will hold a Development Ministerial meeting in Rio de Janeiro focusing on the debate on reducing hunger, poverty, inequality, and climate change. On Wednesday (24) President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva will participate in the pre-launch of the Global Alliance against Hunger and Poverty.

Rio de Janeiro will once again host G20 Brasil meetings. This week’s schedule includes meetings of the Sherpas and Finance Track. The Development Ministerial Meeting is part of the Sherpas Track and will be held on July 22 and 23 at the Galpão da Cidadania headquarters located at Rua da Gamboa, 246. 

On July 24, also at Galpão da Cidadania,President of the Republic of Brasil, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva will participate in meeting of the Task Force for the pre-launch of the Global Alliance against Hunger and Poverty.

According to Brasil's Sherpa, Ambassador Mauricio Lyrio, from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Ministério das Relações Exteriores /MRE), the Brazilian presidency of the G20 had two main objectives, which required the creation of specific mechanisms to address them. The initial phase consisted of a series of technical meetings and is now moving on to a new stage with ministerial meetings. The main themes of the meeting included resource mobilization to increase access to water and sanitation, and measures to reduce racial, gender, social, and economic inequalities.

Lyrio reported that the G20 countries are negotiating documents that may be approved at the meeting, pushing these objectives forward. “In this second half of the year, there is a greater concentration of higher level meetings because the technical experts have already completed a good deal of their work,” he explained.

The Development Group ministerial meeting scheduled for July 22 and 23 will start at 9 a.m. and will be attended by the Brazilian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mauro Vieira, and co-chaired by the Minister of Planning, Simone Tebet, the Minister of Cities, Jader Barbalho Filho, and the Minister of Racial Equality, Anielle Franco.

Brazilian presidency objectives

Sherpa Mauricio Lyrio is positive about the progress made in relation to the three main objectives of Brasil's G20 presidency: reducing hunger, inequality, and poverty; combating climate change and promoting energy transitions; and reforming global governance. “We will take a significant step forward with the pre-launch of the Global Alliance Against Hunger,” he emphasized.

Lyrio emphasized that the Brazilian government sees the G20 as an instrument to advance issues on the global agenda to support the UN, and not as a substitute. He added that the advances in global governance led to the approval of a meeting of foreign ministers at UN headquarters. “When we talk about reforming global governance, the UN must be at the center, and a meeting at its headquarters is symbolic and essential,” he stated.

Symbolism and commitments in Rio de Janeiro

The choice of Galpão da Cidadania as the venue for the ministerial meeting in Rio de Janeiro was highlighted for its symbolism. Recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2018, the Cais do Valongo, in Rio de Janeiro's port area, was the gateway for more than 1 million African slaves between the 18th and 19th centuries. 

The Galpão was designed by the Black engineer and abolitionist André Rebouças, one of the most important articulators of the Abolitionist movement in Brasil. The building currently houses Ação da Cidadania, an NGO focused on combating hunger and extreme poverty.

Ação da Cidadania contra a Fome, a Miséria e pela Vida (Citizens' Action against Hunger and Poverty and in favor of Life) popularly known as the Campaign Against Hunger, was founded by sociologist Herbert de Souza, a.k.a. Betinho, who died in 1997.

Global Alliance against Hunger

The Global Alliance Against Hunger Task Force ministerial meeting will take place on Wednesday with the presence of President Lula. According to Mauricio Lyrio, the figures for 2022 are alarming, with around 750 million people going hungry in the world, including around 150 million children. 

Click here to watch Wednesday's Global Alliance Against Hunger Task Force ministerial meeting

The event will be preceded by the release of the new world hunger map, highlighting the urgent need for coordinated action to tackle this global challenge. President Lula will then pre-launch the Alliance. After that, the initiative will be open for membership.

The Alliance will be officially launched in November, in Rio de Janeiro, during the G20 Leaders' Summit. The Task Force is made up of the Brazilian ministries of Foreign Affairs (Ministérios das Relações Exteriores /MRE), Social Development and Assistance, Family, and Fight against Hunger (Desenvolvimento e Assistência Social, Família e Combate à Fome /MDS), and Finance (Fazenda /MF).

States of the Future

From Monday to Friday (22 to 26) there will also be a G20 side event, “States of the Future”, which will bring together a diverse global coalition of governments, think-tanks, civil society, academia, the private sector, and international organizations to discuss state capacities in the face of the challenges of the 21st century.

The aim is to share innovative strategies and practices for transforming public services and governance, integrating advanced technologies and responding to emerging crises.

Organized by the BNDES (the Brazilian Development Bank) and various ministries, the event will be open to the public from Monday to Wednesday, with meetings with civil society organizations on Thursday and Friday.

Check out the full program of the Development Ministerial Meeting

July 22nd, Monday - Location: Galpão da Cidadania (Plenary Room)

8:30 a.m. to 9 a.m. - Arrival and registration

9 a.m. to 1 p.m. - Session I - Ensuring access to water and sanitation:

Opening with the Brazilian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mauro Vieira; the Minister of Cities, Jader Filho; and the Minister of Planning and Budget, Simone Tebet.

Event: “States of the Future” - Location: Galpão da Cidadania (Auditorium)

2:00 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. - Opening session with the Brazilian Minister of Management and Innovation in Public Services, Ester Dweck; and the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mauro Vieira

2:30 p.m. - 3:00 p.m. - Launch: Highlights of UNDP 2024 - Achim Steiner, Administrator, United Nations Development Program – UNDP

3:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. - Panel: Social Protection Networks of the Future: Innovation for Reducing Inequalities

• José Antonio Ocampo, Professor, School of International Studies and Public Affairs, Columbia University

• José Graziano da Silva, Director of the Zero Hunger Institute; former Director General of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)

• Jurema Werneck, Executive Director, Amnesty International Brasil

• Lívia Sant'Anna Vaz, Attorney of the Ministry of Public Prosecutions of the State of Bahia

• Marcos Athias Neto, Deputy Secretary General, United Nations; Assistant Administrator, United Nations Development Program - UNDP

• Michelle Bachelet, former President of Chile; former United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights; former Executive Director, UN Women

5 p.m. to 7 p.m. - Panel: Building State Capacities for Economic Development

• Giovanni Dosi, Professor, Scuola Superiore Sant'Anna

• Ha-Joon Chang, Professor, SOAS University of London

• Helena Lastres, Associate Researcher, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro

• Laura Carvalho, Global Director of Economics and Climate Prosperity, Open Society Foundations; Adjunct Professor, University of São Paulo - USP

• Marcos Athias Neto, Deputy Secretary General, United Nations; Assistant Administrator, United Nations Development Program - UNDP

• Mariana Mazzucato, Founding Director, UCL Institute for Innovation and Public Purpose - UCL IIPP

July 23rd, Tuesday - Location: Galpão da Cidadania (Plenary Room)

8:30 a.m. to 9 a.m. - Arrival and registration

9 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. - Session II - Combating Inequalities and Trilateral Cooperation

Opening with the Brazilian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mauro Vieira; and the Minister of Racial Equality, Anielle Franco

2:30 p. m. - Event: “Fighting inequalities and eradicating poverty, hunger and malnutrition” - Location: Galpão da Cidadania (Auditorium)

3 p.m. - Opening speech: moderated by Teresa Rossi, T20 Executive Manager of the Brazilian Center for International Relations, with Simone Tebet, Minister of Planning and Budget (Planejamento e Orçamento /MPO); and Wellington Dias, Minister of Development and Social Assistance, Family and Fight against Hunger (Desenvolvimento e Assistência Social, Família e Combate à Fome /MDS)

3:20 p.m. - Presentation of reports

3:40 p.m. - “Inequality in Latin America and the Caribbean: levels, dimensions and a way forward” - Ana María Ibáñez - Vice President of Sectors and Knowledge, IDB

3.40 p.m. to 4 p.m. - “Reducing inequalities for food security and nutrition” - Elisabetta Recine - President of the National Council for Food Security and Nutrition of Brasil (Conselho Nacional para a Segurança Alimentar e Nutricional do Brasil  /CONSEA) and Member of the High Level Panel of Experts on Food Security and Nutrition (Painel de Peritos de Alto Nível em Segurança Alimentar e Nutricional /HLPE-FSN) of the Committee on World Food Security (Comitê de Segurança Alimentar Mundial /CFS)

4 p.m. to 4:10 p.m. - Nosipho Nausca-Jean Jezile, Chair of the Commission on World Food Security and South African Ambassador to the United Nations Agencies in Rome

4:10 p.m. to 4:20 p.m. Máximo Torero Cullen, Chief Economist (FAO)

4:20 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. Natalia Winder Rossi Global Director of Social Policy and Social Protection (UNICEF)

4:30 p.m. to 4:35 p.m. - Closing remarks with Teresa Rossi, moderator

Side event

July 23rd, Tuesday - Location: Galpão da Cidadania 

3:00 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. - Opening session moderated by Teresa Rossi, T20 Executive Manager of the Brazilian Center for International Affairs

3:00 p.m. to 3:10 p.m. - Simone Tebet, Minister of Planning and Budget (Brasil)

3:10 p.m. to 3:20 p.m. - Wellington Dias, Minister of Social Development and Assistance, Family, and Fight against Hunger (Brasil)

3:20 p.m. to 3:40 p.m. - “Inequality in Latin America and the Caribbean: levels, dimensions and a way forward”, with Ana María Ibáñez - Vice President for Sectors and Knowledge, IDB

3.40 p.m. to 4 p.m. - “Reducing inequalities for food and nutrition security”, with Elisabetta Recine - President of the National Council for Food and Nutrition Security of Brasil (Conselho Nacional de Segurança Alimentar e Nutricional do Brasil /CONSEA) and Member of the High Level Panel of Experts on Food and Nutrition Security (Painel de Especialistas de Alto Nível em Segurança Alimentar e Nutricional /HLPE-FSN) of the Committee on World Food Security (CFS)

4:00 p.m. to 4:10 p.m. - Nosipho Nausca-Jean Jezile, Chair of the Committee on Food Security (Comitê de Segurança Alimentar /CFS) of the United Nations (UN)

July 24th, Wednesday - Location: Galpão da Cidadania Ministerial Meeting of the Task Force to Establish a Global Alliance Against Hunger and Poverty

8:30 a.m. to 9 a.m. - Arrival and registration

9 a.m. to 10 a.m. - Presentation of “The State of Food and Nutrition Security in the World - SOFI 2024” - Location: Auditorium

9:00 a.m. to 9:10 a.m. - Opening segment

- António Guterres, Secretary-General of the United Nations

9:10 a.m. to 9:35 a.m. Partner segment

• QU Dongyu, Director General, FAO

• Alvaro Lario, president, IFAD

• Catherine M. Russell, Executive Director, UNICEF

• Cindy H. McCain, Executive Director, PMA

• Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General, WHO

9:35 a.m. to 9:45 a.m. Setting the scene

• Máximo Torero Cullen, Chief Economist, FAO

9.45 a.m. to 10 a.m. - Closing remarks

• Wellington Dias, Minister of Social Development and Assistance, Family and Fight against Hunger (Ministério do Desenvolvimento e Assistência Social, Família e Combate à Fome /MDS)

10am – Questions and Answers

11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. - Opening and High-Level Session with the participation of the Brazilian ministers Mauro Vieira (Foreign Affairs); Fernando Haddad (Finance); and Wellington Dias (Social Development and Assistance, Family, and Fight against Hunger)

11:35 a.m. to 11:40 a.m. - Minister Wellington Dias invites participants to adopt the Initial Document of the Global Alliance Against Hunger and Poverty 

11:40 a.m. to 11:50 a.m. - President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina sign and publicly present the Declarations of Commitment of Brasil and Bangladesh

12:10 p.m. - Speech by the President of Brasil, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva

2 p.m. to 6 p.m. - Speeches by G20 countries and guest countries

Side event

Public policies to combat hunger and poverty: empowering women and girls for sustainable development

5:30 p.m. to 7 p.m. - Panel discussion

Prime Minister of Bangladesh, H.E. Sheikh Hasina 

Brasil"s First Lady, Janja Lula da Silva

Executive Director of the World Food Program (WFP), Cindy McCain

President of the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), Álvaro Lario

President of Brasil's National Council for Food and Nutrition Security (Conselho Nacional de Segurança Alimentar e Nutricional do Brasil /CONSEA), Elisabetta Recine

The panel will be moderated by Sabrina Dhowre Elba, activist, president of the European Citizens' Council and UN Goodwill Ambassador for IFAD

See also