Doha: The Global Alliance has introduced an innovative approach to helping countries address challenges related to hunger and poverty through practical, scalable, and evidence-based programmes.
On the sidelines of the Second World Summit for Social Development in Doha, Renato Domith Godinho, Director of the Support Mechanism of Global Alliance Against Hunger and Poverty, highlighted that the Alliance’s defining feature, known as the ‘policy basket’, sets it apart from other global initiatives.
Speaking to The Peninsula, Godinho said: “The policy basket is a collection built together by members, organisations, think tanks, academia, but most especially the country governments themselves that gathers the best evidence-based policy instruments and programmes that have proven to work in reducing hunger and poverty, as adapted to different national experiences.”
He cautioned against the common pitfall of trying to implement all-encompassing strategies without establishing strong programmatic foundations. “It’s easier to say we need a broad, integrated strategy with all policies interconnected, but if you try to do it all at once, you’ll be lost,” he noted.
“The policy basket emphasises well-defined programmes including school meals, credit for smallholders, social protection systems, and social registries that can be built and then interlinked. Without these foundations, broad frameworks remain only on paper.”
Godinho stressed that the Global Alliance Against Hunger and Poverty is not a replacement for humanitarian work but a mechanism to help countries develop and strengthen their own national programmes and systems. “Of course, there are many countries in conflict or fragile situations where emergency relief is necessary,” he said.
“But more and more, there is awareness that the gap between humanitarian and development work needs to be bridged. By building anticipatory, responsive, and adaptive social protection systems, as showcased in the Alliance’s policy basket, countries can use humanitarian resources through national systems that are sustainable and have a structural impact.”
Launched during Brazil’s G20 presidency in 2024, the Alliance has commissioned several reports to identify global gaps in poverty and hunger-reduction efforts. One key finding, Godinho stated, is the fragmentation of international assistance. “Too many donors and agencies are running isolated projects that don’t connect with large-scale national programmes,” he said.
“The Alliance’s approach invites countries to present implementation plans for national-scale programmes like the countrywide school meals programme and then aligns different partners, financing, and knowledge around that single plan. This reduces transaction costs and creates far greater impact.”
Godinho emphasised that the Alliance’s program-based and country-led model aims to strengthen national capacities, ensure coherence among partners, and accelerate tangible results in reducing hunger and poverty. He further added, “We already have too many strategic frameworks. The challenge now is to implement the move from plans to programmes that can change lives.”
