Speaking at the Global Citizen Live event, President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, announced that the European Union is pledging €140 million to support research in sustainable food systems and tackle food hunger via CGIAR, formerly also known as Consultative Group for International Agricultural Research, and a further €25 million for Education Cannot Wait, a global fund for the education of children in emergencies and protracted crises, in particular girls, children with disabilities, minorities and other marginalized children.

Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission, said: “Europeans have shipped 800 million doses of vaccines with the world, even when we did not have enough for ourselves. Now, we need to step up, to help end this pandemic globally, end hunger, give children all over the world equal chances. Team Europe has already committed to donate 500 million doses of vaccines to vulnerable countries by next summer. On top, the European Commission today commits €140 million to improve global food security and reduce extreme poverty, and €25 million to Education Cannot Wait, supporting education for children around the world living through conflict and crisis.”

Education Cannot Wait is a global fund for the education of children in emergencies and protracted crises that enables governments, multilateral institutions and the private sector to finance comprehensive education programmes for crisis-affected children and youth. It was designed to be agile and to reach the most vulnerable, excluded and hard-to-reach, including girls, children with disabilities, minorities and other marginalized children.

CGIAR, founded in 1971, is a network of 15 research centres around the world with about 8,000 scientists conducting research into food systems in Africa, Asia, Pacific, Latin America and the Caribbean, whose mission is to help feed a rapidly growing global population. It now aims to help tackle 21st century challenges, to transform food, land, and water systems in a climate crisis, and prepare the world for shocks like those brought by COVID-19, within a restructured organization.

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