World pledges to combat hunger, malnutrition with 2.7 bn pounds aid at G8 food summit

In an effort to combat hunger, 51 countries have proposed saving 1.7 million children's lives by 2020 by donating billions of pounds for the cause at the G8 food summit in London.

The food summit that saw Britain committing hundreds of millions of pounds in aid was hosted by British Prime Minister David Cameron, Brazil's Vice-President, Michel Temer and the Children's Investment Fund Foundation president Jamie Cooper-Hohn, the Independent reports.

According to the report, fifty other countries apart from Britain have vowed to improve the nutrition of half a billion pregnant women and young children by 2020 and aim at reducing the figures of children under-five suffering stunted growth by 20 million.

The report said that the countries also plan to increase and motivate breastfeeding and treat malnutrition in a better manner as delegates promised 2.7 billion pounds in aid within the seven-year time span.

Cameron however said that the 'deepest problems the world faces' are malnutrition and hunger and warned that the commitments made at the summit will not beat hunger but the way they are followed in the coming days will ensure that 'the massive issues for humanity' are dealt with.

Cameron added that hunger can never be defeated just by spending more money or by making developed nations and philanthropists to 'do development' to the developing world, but by 'helping those in developing countries in taking control of their own destiny'.

The Prime Minister said that while it is in the developing countries' interests, it is in the world's interests too that the issue is dealt with promptly and decisively.

However, unless more countries pledge to donate at the G8 summit in Northern Ireland next week the number of lives saved will only be a fraction of the 21 million children expected to die from malnutrition between now and 2020, the report added.