EKO HOT BLOG reports that the World Food Programme’s chief laid out a plan to spend $6.6 billion to tackle world hunger — a direct answer to Tesla CEO Elon Musk’s remark that he would sell Tesla stock to fund a plan if the WFP could outline “just how” it would work.
On Monday, UN Food Program Director David Beasley, a former Republican governor of South Carolina, tweeted a link to a 1,000-word “executive summary.” It lays out how the UN would spend $6.6 billion on meals and vouchers to feed more than 40 million people in 43 countries that are “on the verge of hunger,” averting what the World Food Programme calls a “catastrophe.”
In the document Beasley posted, the WFP proposes dedicating $3.5 billion to buy and deliver food directly, $2 billion “for cash and food vouchers (including transaction fees) in places where markets can function,” and spending another $700 million to manage new food programs that are “adapted to the in-country” conditions and ensure “the assistance reaches the most vulnerable.”
Another $400 million would be used for “operations management, administration and accountability” and supply chain coordination.
“The world is on fire,” Beasley wrote. “I’ve been warning about the perfect storm brewing due to Covid, conflict, climate shocks & now, rising supply chain costs. IT IS HERE.”
“This hunger crisis is urgent, unprecedented, AND avoidable,” Beasley wrote in a separate tweet, tagging Musk, who is the world’s wealthiest person with a net worth of approximately $288 billion. “You asked for a clear plan & open books. Here it is! We’re ready to talk with you – and anyone else – who is serious about saving lives.”
As of Wednesday afternoon, Musk had not responded.
The back-and-forth between Musk and Beasley kicked off with a CNN interview last month in which Beasley asked billionaires to “step up now, on a one-time basis” to help combat world hunger, specifically citing the world’s two richest men: Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos.
Beasley said giving $6 billion, or 2% of Musk’s net worth, could help solve world hunger. Musk responded on Twitter, writing, “If WFP can describe on this Twitter thread exactly how $6B will solve world hunger, I will sell Tesla stock right now and do it.”
“But it must be open source accounting, so the public sees precisely how the money is spent,” Musk added.
Beasley previously replied to Musk’s tweets, assuring him that systems are in place for transparency and open source accounting.
“For him to even enter into this conversation is a game-changer because simply put, we can answer his questions, we can put forth a plan that’s clear,” Beasley told CNN in a follow-up interview earlier this month. “Any and everything he asks, we would be glad to answer. I look forward to having this discussion with him because lives are at stake.”
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