The Government of Brazil and Rome-based United Nations agencies reflected on the alliance to promote South-South cooperation, which is based on the exchange of knowledge, experiences, technologies, and resources.
Paulo Beraldo and Palova Brito
Brasília, Brazil, September 11, 2024 – School feeding was one of the highlighted topics at the South-South Cooperation Day celebration during an event held at the Itamaraty Palace on September 10, in Brasília, Brazil. This commemorative date highlights the importance of alliances developed between countries of the Global South.
Brazil is a global reference in Trilateral South-South Cooperation. To celebrate the evolution of this joint work, the event “Global Partners, Local Actions: Strengthening Nutrition and Food Security through Trilateral South-South Cooperation” was held.
The celebration was organized by the Brazilian Cooperation Agency of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (ABC/MRE), in conjunction with the Rome-based agencies: the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), and the World Food Programme (WFP), to celebrate and reflect on the advances and reaffirm the collaboration between the agencies and the Brazilian government.
Trilateral South-South Cooperation, promoted by FAO, IFAD, and WFP together with developing countries, is based on the exchange of knowledge, experiences, technologies, and resources. Respecting the principles of national sovereignty, equality, and non-conditionality, the agencies act as catalysts to unite the synergies, solutions, and skills of the Global South countries.
Ambassador Maria Laura da Rocha, Acting Minister of Foreign Affairs of Brazil, highlighted that Brazilian South-South Cooperation has achieved concrete results due to practices that emphasize local ownership, capacity building on the ground, and promoting structural advances in sustainable development. “Brazilian South-South cooperation, in all the areas it operates, is characterized by dialogue and shared management among partners, with the direct and active participation of cooperating institutions throughout the process,” she explained.
Dima Al-Khatib, Director of the United Nations Office for South-South Cooperation (UNOSSC), reflected on the progress made through this model of cooperation. “By mobilizing international solidarity and forging global partnerships through South-South and triangular cooperation, we can accelerate the achievement of the SDGs.”
Participating in the dialogue panels were the President of the National Fund for Educational Development (FNDE), Fernanda Pacobahyba; the Executive Secretary of the Ministry of Agrarian Development and Family Agriculture (MDA), Fernanda Machiavelli; the Special Advisor for International Affairs of the Ministry of Development and Social Assistance, Family, and Fight Against Hunger (MDS), Renato Domith Godinho; the IFAD Director in Brazil and Head of South-South Cooperation and Knowledge Center, Arnoud Hameleers; the Minister and Coordinator of Food Security and Nutrition at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Saulo Ceolin; the FAO Representative in Latin America and the Caribbean, Mario Lubetkin. Also present were representatives of the Embassies of Kenya and Guatemala in Brazil, and Stanlake Samkange, Director of Multilateral and Progamme Country Partnership Division.
School Feeding
Since 2009, FAO, ABC/MRE, and FNDE, within the framework of the Brazil-FAO International Cooperation Program, have promoted a series of Trilateral South-South Cooperation (TSSC) initiatives for the exchange of experiences with countries in Latin America and the Caribbean for the strengthening and consolidation of school feeding programs, from the perspective of guaranteeing the Human Right to Adequate Food.
Mario Lubetkin, FAO Regional Representative for Latin America and the Caribbean, pointed out that school feeding programmes are essential for ensuring food security, improving nutrition, and protecting the human right to adequate food. Additionally, he highlighted the Sustainable School Feeding Network (RAES) as a strategy “to strengthen school feeding programmes through dialogue and the exchange of experiences.”
Fernanda Pacobahyba, President of FNDE, mentioned the approval of the School Feeding Law in Brazil in 2009 as a milestone for strengthening this policy in the country, the region, and the world. It was emphasized that school feeding contributes to advancing the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and helping countries overcome their development challenges in different areas due to the cross-cutting nature of this policy.
The event celebrated the achievements made towards reducing poverty, nutrition, and food security and advanced in shared strategic commitments, such as the cooperation initiative between FAO, IFAD and WFP and ABC to support national school feeding programmes and family farming. The panelists agreed that the collaboration between Brazil and FAO, IFAD, and WFP is an example of how to create synergies that benefit education and local agriculture, strengthening national capacities and driving sustainable development.
