TELFS, Austria — The Group of Seven nations on Tuesday pledged to spend $4.5 billion addressing a global food crisis fueled by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
The commitment came as leaders from the world’s major developed economies, including President Joe Biden, wrapped up a three-day summit in Germany focused on supporting Kyiv and combatting Moscow.
But Russian President Vladimir Putin’s war has also stoked a growing global food crisis that has impacted vulnerable people from the Middle East to the Horn of Africa, with the United States and its allies accusing the Kremlin of deliberately using hunger as a weapon.
Of the total committed by the G-7, the U.S. will commit $2.76 billion, which will come from the Ukraine aid package passed by Congress earlier this year, said a senior U.S. administration official. The funding will support efforts in more than 47 countries and regional organizations.
“Putin’s actions have been at the core and the thing from which you can draw a direct line to all of the vulnerability that we’re seeing around the world in terms of food security,” the official said. “His actions have strangled food and agricultural production, and used food as a weapon of war.”
Of the U.S. funds, $2 billion will go to immediate direct humanitarian interventions and $760 million will be used to help improve resilience and productivity of the global food system, the official said.
“We, the leaders of the G-7, will spare no effort to increase global food and nutrition security and to protect the most vulnerable, whom the food crisis threatens to hit the hardest,” the leaders said in a statement Tuesday.
While the leaders said addressing food shortages was a top priority at the meeting, they had no solution for how to get Ukraine’s grain out of the country. “We’re working on it,” said British Prime Minister Boris Johnson when the leaders were asked about a plan by a reporter.
Ukraine has been a major supplier of wheat, corn and sunflower oil for many of the world’s poorest countries, but food exports from the country have ground to a halt as a result of a Russian blockade of Black Sea ports and the destruction of agricultural facilities and equipment.
That has led to a surge in prices for those commodities, putting them out of reach for many lower income countries. The U.S. Agency for International Development estimates 750,000 people are at immediate risk of starvation around the world as a result of the war in Ukraine.
There have been widespread protests in recent weeks around the world over the soaring cost of food. In Ecuador, protests over the rising price of food and fuel have ensnared the country’s capital for weeks and threaten to unseat its president.
The pledge on food security came as G-7 leaders ended their summit Tuesday, with Biden heading to a NATO summit in Madrid.
The gathering focused heavily on coordinating the countries’ assistance to Ukraine and efforts to put pressure on Russia to end the conflict.
But China was also a major focus for the group during the three days of meetings, said the U.S. official. In the group’s communique to be released later today, the leaders will address the “harms caused by China’s non-transparent market distorting industrial directives,” said the official.
“The leaders will commit to working together to develop a coordinated approach to remedy China’s non-market practices to help ensure a level playing field for businesses and workers,” the official said.
The leaders will also address forced labor practices in China and “debt traps” created by China’s infrastructure projected in lower-income countries, the official said.
