Brazilian President Lula seeks to boost support for alliance against hunger

Brazilian President Luiz Incio Lula da Silva unveiled a global alliance against hunger and poverty in Rio de Janeiro on Wednesday, an initiative he described as one of Brazil's top priorities for its current presidency of the Group of 20 nations.

Hunger is not something natural. Hunger is something that requires a political decision, Lula said during a ministerial meeting to establish the global alliance. The leftist leader slammed the perpetuation of hunger across the world despite sufficient production.

Lula was seeking to bolster support ahead of the formal establishment of the alliance later this year, when world leaders will gather in Rio de Janeiro for the Nov. 18-19 summit of the leading 20 rich and developing nations.

The alliance aims to implement a mechanism to mobilize funds and knowledge to support the expansion of policies and programs to combat inequality and poverty, according to a statement from Brazil's G20 press office on Tuesday. It will be managed from a ...