ONE Campaign calls on G20 to help those hit hardest by ‘Polycrisis’

As leaders gather in the tourist hot-spot of Bali, Indonesia, for the G20 Summit, anti-poverty group The ONE Campaign urged delegates to remember that they’re not there for a holiday.

The summit takes place against a backdrop of multiple, concurrent challenges that are bleeding into each other. The convergence of these crises is touching the lives of everyone – as the IMF predicts that global growth will slow next year for the third year running – and have led to one of the worst global economic crises in recent memory.

Whilst people everywhere are affected by this situation, it is particularly impacting those in low and middle income countries – with more than 50 countries are on the verge of bankruptcy. Compounding this, since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine began, an additional 68.1 million people are experiencing hunger.

Sara Harcourt, Senior Policy Director for Development Finance at ONE, said: “The people hit hardest by the global ‘polycrisis’ are those with the least resources to respond. For the G20 to remain relevant to the majority of the world’s 8 billion people it needs to not only show it understands this – but is acting on it. They’re not in Bali to take it easy.

“World leaders’ focus is fixed on conflict in Ukraine and domestic cost-of-living crises. But the bigger picture, and the millions of people in developing countries, cannot be ignored.The converging crises of climate threats, food insecurity, and economic shocks are not going away of their own accord, but need real and urgent action.”

ONE is calling on the G20 to:

• Respond to the urgent food security crisis in the Horn of Africa
• Ensure the whole world has the resources needed to respond to the escalating climate emergency and can embrace the sustainable technologies needed to secure long term economic prosperity
• Meet the commitment to deliver $100bn in Special Drawing Rights. Currently the figure delivered is $61.3 bn
• Modernise multilateral development banks, which could leverage up to $1 trillion more in finance and work better for the people they serve
• Set a clear path to fix the broken debt relief system, which is not working properly for countries teetering on debt distress

Harcourt continued: “The global state of affairs doesn’t have to be interminable. But changing course will take a lot of political will and resources – both of which are distinctly lacking. If the G20 can’t deliver on this, then serious questions should be asked if this forum is fit for purpose.”