Big IF: Archbishops Vincent Nichols and Justin Welby call on world leaders to end hunger

At an ecumenical service in London, the Archbishop of Westminster and Archbishop of Canterbury joined together in calling for action at the upcoming G8 summit to tackle the root causes of global hunger.

Ahead of the Enniskillen G8 summit, 3,500 people from all over the UK attended the service in Westminster before joining thousands more for the Big IF rally in Hyde Park.

Archbishop of Westminster Vincent Nichols said: “That millions go hungry every day is a responsibility we all must share. These are our brothers and sisters and their suffering is also ours. There can be no excuse that in a world of plenty, so many go without. We have gathered today to show our solidarity with those millions who are made to have less because the food system is skewed in favour of those with both financial and political power.

“Our world and our global family were not made so that some could feast while others hungered. Everyone has a right to his or her daily bread.”

Download and read the full speech.

The Most Reverend Vincent Nichols speaks for Enough Food for Everyone IF - Ecumenical Service.docx 21.07 kB

In his video message Archbishop Justin Welby congratulates David Cameron for maintaining the UK’s pledge to deliver 0.7% to the aid budget each year.

Watch the video message on youtube >>

As part of Enough Food for Everyone IF, the service was organised by CAFOD, Tearfund, Christian Aid and other major faith agencies. More than 1500 churches have participated in the IF campaign. At the same time as the campaign day of action, Prime Minister David Cameron hosted a pre-G8 summit focusing on growth and nutrition.

Our director Chris Bain said: “We have heard today the voices of those with faith ringing loud and true in calling for an end to hunger.

“This service brought thousands of people from different churches together, all standing in solidarity with our millions of brothers and sisters in all parts of the world who tonight and tomorrow will go to bed hungry.

“We have come together to show that we refuse a world where people's futures are blighted by a lack of food. We must make 2013 the year we start to solve the hunger crisis.”

CAFOD is a founder member of the Enough Food for Everyone IF coalition of more than 200 organisations that have joined together to campaign for action by the G8 on the issue of global hunger. The last time we worked together at this scale was for Make Poverty History. Now that the G8 group of world leaders are returning to the UK, we are demanding they take action on hunger.