It’s time to step up.
It’s time to step up.
Resilience is the antidote to multiple crises
Today, we are beset by crises: the war in Ukraine, the COVID-19 pandemic, economic turmoil, unprecedented droughts in the Horn of Africa, the cataclysmic earthquake in Türkiye and Syria, the growing visible effects of climate change.
Amid all these crises, hunger is silently exacerbating. Despite global GDP increasing by over 20% per capita since 2015 (when the Sustainable Development Goals were introduced), unthinkably, more people are hungry today.
In today’s multi-crisis context, one disaster quickly follows another, with no time for recovery. Newsfeeds are filled with multiple stories with flashing ‘live update’ labels calling for our attention. With crisis fatigue setting in, we risk becoming immune to stories of suffering. We risk losing hope.
The time is now—more than ever before—to invest in solutions with lasting impact. To invest in sustainable, inclusive and robust food systems so that when future crises hit, communities have the strength to withstand them, without the need for emergency aid. To continue investing in the people that form the foundations of our food systems and feed the world: small-scale farmers.
As IFAD kicks off consultations for its thirteenth replenishment (IFAD13), we are asking our Member States to step up their investments in food systems and rural people.
Not only is this the right thing to do, it is also cost-effective. With at least half of all humanitarian crises are foreseeable, every dollar spent on resilience today saves up to USD$10 in emergency aid in the future.
IFAD is uniquely purpose-built to address today’s challenges. We have over forty years of experience focusing exclusively on building sustainable rural communities. With increased investments, IFAD, alongside Member States and partners, can build a more sustainable future by boosting climate financing for small-scale producers, by engaging with the private sector to create jobs and strengthen value chains, and by building resilience in fragile areas.
Extraordinary times call for extraordinary global effort. With IFAD13, now is our chance to break the cycle of crises with sustainable, long-term investments.
In 2027, at the end of IFAD13, I hope my newsfeed will also feature stories on how the most vulnerable people have a better chance at reaching their full potential than they do today. For Georg Friedrich Hegel, “reading the morning newspaper is the realist's morning prayer”. For me, it is a call to action. It obliges us to step up and to tirelessly strive for the future we want.
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Press Release: IFAD President calls on government leaders to step up investment in the world’s poorest people.
Publication date: 27 February 2023