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Spikes in food and fertilizer prices, largely caused by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, have forced Germany into the role of global food crisis coordinator during its 2022 presidency of the Group of Seven leading industrial nations.
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Also in today’s edition, we look at how Andrew Mitchell’s return as the United Kingdom’s development minister could affect climate policies, and the other issues at stake at next week’s global climate summit in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt.
Lesch get down to business
My colleague Teresa Welsh recently sat down with Sebastian Lesch, head of the sustainable agricultural supply chains unit within BMZ, the German federal ministry for economic cooperation and development, to talk about how the country is leading the G-7 on the food crisis.
In May, the G-7 launched a Global Alliance for Food Security in partnership with the World Bank. The alliance isn’t a new institution, Lesch explained. Instead, its aim is to create a “platform” where countries can coordinate their efforts and access data on donor activity, food security, agricultural markets, and more, he said.
Germany felt a responsibility to ensure the food crisis was prioritized in the G-7 agenda, according to Lesch.
“We felt early on quite a lot of pressure of everyone looking towards Berlin, looking towards the G-7 presidency in terms of ‘what are the Germans going to do about it? What is it that they are going to propose,’” he told Teresa.
Read: How the G-7 is responding to the food crisis (Pro)
ICYMI: G-7 pledges $4.5B for more food security as advocates call for more
+ Devex Pro members can read the latest in our series on how global organizations are responding to the food crisis. Not yet gone Pro? Read the articles by starting your 15-day free trial of Devex Pro now.
Temperature check
Newly installed U.K. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has changed his mind and decided to attend the 27th United Nations Climate Change Conference, or COP 27, after all. Sunak’s initial plan to skip the event to focus on domestic matters was widely criticized by climate advocates, opposition parties, and COP 26 President Alok Sharma.
But climate advocates aren’t breathing a sigh of relief just yet. Many raised concerns that the U.K.’s five-year £11.6 billion ($13.1 billion) climate finance commitment — thus far protected from aid cuts — might be slashed in the future, though the U.K. government confirmed to Devex last night that it will still deliver. While the aid community welcomed the appointment of Andrew Mitchell as international development minister, one source tells my colleague William Worley that the longtime advocate for aid has a “blind spot on climate.”
Already, the government has missed deadlines to fulfill multimillion-dollar climate pledges.
Read more: UK claims it is still delivering £11.6B climate finance pledge
+ As COP 27 starts Sunday, join Devex and a panel of high-level climate and diplomacy experts today at 9 a.m. ET (2 p.m. CET) for a webinar moderated by Will to get ahead of the discussions and hear about the key issues to watch. Register now.
Real consequences
Meanwhile, the immediate effects of climate change are being felt in Somalia, where drought has led to more than 1 million people being displaced. While emergency relief is on the ground, considerably more is needed, writes Awil Abukar Mohamed in an opinion piece for Devex.
Famine is likely to be declared shortly, but the international community needs to act “now” to stop more children dying of starvation and preventable disease, he said after returning from a trip to the area for Islamic Relief. Mohamed called on global governments to provide emergency funding and a long-term approach to tackling hunger and climate crises.
“The warning signs of this crisis have been clear for at least the past year, but funds have not come in time for too many,” he writes. “Responding when we are on the verge of famine is too late.”
Opinion: Somalia needs the world to wake up now
ICYMI: 'The cavalry hasn't arrived' — Somalia on the brink of famine
PEPFAR reaching
The U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, or PEPFAR’s infrastructure for treating HIV/AIDS could be critical to getting sickle cell disease treatments to more low-income patients in sub-Saharan Africa, my colleague Natalie Donback reports.
Sickle cell disease disproportionately affects the region. Of the 300,000 children born with sickle cell disease globally each year, 236,000 are in sub-Saharan Africa, and more than half of those children will die before they turn 5.
PEPFAR has already managed to increase the capacity of the region’s health care workforce and laboratory infrastructure since it launched in 2003, training health professionals to respond to HIV/AIDS. Now, health experts hope it can add training in treating sickle cell, as well as throwing its weight around to negotiate lower prices for treatments.
Read: Can PEPFAR expand access to sickle cell disease treatment in Africa?
+ Sign up for Devex CheckUp to get the front-line and behind-the-scenes reporting on global health — and look out for its latest edition hitting inboxes today.
Making sure the kids are alright
European Union civil society leaders were pleasantly surprised when the European Commission last month rolled out a plan to provide youth advisory structures to European missions around the world and €100 million ($99 million) worth of initiatives targeting young people, among other things.
The commission’s first Youth Action Plan in External Action is focused on improving the EU’s relationship with young people all over the world. Included in it is a €40 million initiative to support pro-democracy activists as well as a pilot Youth Empowerment Fund, worth €10 million, which will provide financial support for youth-led initiatives in aid-receiving countries.
The action plan was a “very positive surprise,” Johanna Caminati Engström, policy and advocacy officer at Plan International EU, tells my colleague Vince Chadwick.
Read more: EU youth engagement effort wins top marks, for now
In other news
A law introduced late last month gives Myanmar’s junta authority over aid delivery, requiring international and local NGOs to be registered with the military government to be able to operate in communities in need. [The Guardian]
The U.S. is seeking to remove Iran from the U.N. Commission on the Status of Women over the country’s record of women’s rights abuses and its government’s crackdown on recent protests. [Reuters]
The U.S. watchdog on Afghanistan has criticized the Biden administration for dodging efforts to fully assess $1.1 billion in aid spent since Taliban’s takeover of the country. [VOA]
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About the author
Stephanie Beasley@Steph_Beasley
Stephanie Beasley is a Senior Reporter at Devex, where she covers global philanthropy with a focus on regulations and policy. She is an alumna of the UC Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism and Oberlin College and has a background in Latin American studies. She previously covered transportation security at POLITICO.
