WCC, Caritas, World Vision issue open letter against hunger

Artist Harold Segura, a WV Regional Director of Faith & Development, provided this picture showing open hands holding loaves & fish - not hoarding, not scarcity, but gift & possibility

For the first time, the leaders of the World Council of Churches (WCC), Caritas Internationalis, and World Vision International have cosigned a joint open letter calling on governments, multilateral institutions, and faith communities to act urgently on global hunger and malnutrition. The letter brings together three of the world's largest faith-based organisations in a common public stand.

"Hunger amid abundance is a moral failure," the letter reads. "No one should suffer or die, especially children, because political decisions prioritise war, division, and short-term interests over human life and the common good."

The letter is cosigned by Rev Prof Dr Jerry Pillay, WCC general secretary; Alistair Dutton, secretary general of Caritas Internationalis; and Andrew Morley, president and CEO of World Vision International.

The joint statement comes ahead of a 90-minute online webinar marking World Hunger Day, titled: 'Give your loaves and fish,' the 2026 annual campaign of the Prayer and Action Against Hunger Coalition. It runs on 9 June from 14:30 to 16:00 CEST.

The letter identifies conflict, displacement, economic instability, and climate shocks as the principal drivers of a crisis that has left approximately 318 million people facing crisis-level hunger in 2026 so far, according to the Global Report on Food Crises 2026. An estimated 673 million people - 8.2% of the global population - experienced hunger in 2024, according to the State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World 2025.

The three organisations call on governments to protect humanitarian access and uphold international humanitarian law, safeguard child nutrition programmes, protect global food supply chains, and prioritise peacebuilding over militarisation.

LINKS

Webinar registration: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/yKQ62cxjSIOQibHs-nR7hg#/registration

"Give your loaves and fish" campaign: https://regalatupanytupez.com/en

Global Report on Food Crises 2026 (GNFC): www.fightfoodcrises.net/global-report-food-crises