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| Billionaire Bill Gates honored Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva at the 2024 Global Goalkeepers event held in New York City (USA) on September 23. (Source: PR) |
The Brazilian leader, along with more than 10 prominent figures, were named at the annual event, sponsored by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, held on the sidelines of the 79th United Nations General Assembly High-Level Week in New York.
Speaking at the event to recognize efforts to improve the health and nutrition of children in his local community, President Lula da Silva shared his own story: “My desire to fight global hunger comes directly from my own circumstances.
I was born in a very poor state in the Northeast and when I was 7 years old, my mother had to move from the Northeast to São Paulo, with 8 small children, to ensure her children survived.”
Before presenting the award to President Lula da Silva, philanthropist and Microsoft founder Bill Gates praised the Brazilian leader’s work in tackling hunger. “President Lula, your journey from experiencing hunger as a child to becoming a global leader is truly inspiring.
His work shows us that we can all have the vision that specific programs can actually make incredible progress so that every child can grow and thrive,” the billionaire emphasized.
Persistent poverty in the world is unacceptable, President Lula da Silva said, calling on global leaders to take action to end it.
“It is unacceptable that, in the 21st century, in a high-tech world, there are children who go to bed at night without eating anything, and wake up in the morning without even a loaf of bread and butter for breakfast. Hunger is not a natural phenomenon: hunger is the irresponsibility of those in power in the world who do not want to see the poorest people, do not care about the need to distribute food,” he said.
Mr. Lula da Silva, 78 years old, is serving his third term as President, after two successful terms from 2003 to 2010.
During his first term, he initiated Bolsa Familia, a poverty reduction and social inclusion program that lifted millions out of poverty and reduced the country's malnutrition rate from 37% to 7% in 30 years.
“We ended hunger in 2014, and after I return as President in 2023, we will see 33 million people in poverty again.” After efforts to lift 24.5 million people out of hunger, he expressed his determination, “by 2026, I hope to show the world a Brazil without hunger.”
The seasoned politician is spearheading the Global Alliance Against Hunger initiative during Brazil’s presidency of the Group of 20 (G20). The initiative includes evidence-based strategies to improve food security, improve health, reduce poverty and promote equity.
In addition to Lula da Silva, the global Goalkeepers event also honored other prominent figures who are experts, innovators, lawyers, and leaders from around the world for leading the effort towards a better-nourished world.
This year’s event focuses on the more than 400 million children who are not getting the nutrients they need to thrive, according to Mark Suzman, CEO of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. The foundation’s recent annual report said that if the world does not take immediate action, climate change will cause 40 million more children to be stunted and 28 million more to be malnourished between 2024 and 2050.
Source: https://baoquocte.vn/tong-thong-brazil-tinh-trang-doi-ngheo-dai-dang-tren-the-gioi-la-khong-the-chap-nhan-duoc-287543.html
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