Elon Musk claimed he was prepared to donate billions of dollars to end world hunger. Now, the United Nations has called on him to collect, laying out the framework of their plan on social media.
The conversation started with a back and forth between Musk and David Beasley, the director of the UN’s World Food Programme (WFP) on Twitter. In a tweet, Beasley wrote that if 0.36% of the top 400 US billionaires’ net worth increase in 2020 was made available, the WFP would be able to feed 42 million people across 43 different countries.
Musk responded by saying he would pledge $6 billion to the cause, funding the donation by selling off Tesla stock, as long as the UN ensures “open source accounting, so the public sees precisely how the money is spent.”
Beasley replied that the UN has “systems in place for transparency and open source accounting.”
This hunger crisis is urgent, unprecedented, AND avoidable. @elonmusk, 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. The ask is $6.6B to avert famine in 2022: https://t.co/eJLmfcMVqE
— David Beasley (@WFPChief) November 15, 2021
Beasley replied that the UN has “systems in place for transparency and open source accounting.”
“Transparency and accountability are essential to us and our donors,” he wrote. “WFP’s financial statements, operational plans, audits & annual reports, etc. are all public. We have open books.”
In a follow-up tweet, Beasley posted a link to the WFP’s donation plan, providing a breakdown of how the money given to the organization by billionaires like Musk would be spent.
He added, “This hunger crisis is urgent, unprecedented, AND avoidable. @elonmusk, 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.”
The plan is titled “A one-time appeal to billionaires” and explains $3.5 billion will be spent on food and the cost of delivery. A further $2 billion is to be spent on cash and food vouchers, and $700 million on “country-specific costs to design, scale up and manage the implementation of efficient and effective programmes for millions of tons more food and cash transfers and vouchers – adapted to the in-country conditions and operational risks in 43 countries.”
The WFP also proposes the last $400 million be spent on “global and regional operations management, administration and accountability, including coordination of global supply lines and aviation routes; global logistics coordination such as freight contracting; global monitoring and analysis of hunger worldwide; and risk management and independent auditors dedicated to oversight.”
However, comments on social media have criticized the proposals as ineffective and only concerned with finding short-term solutions.
Remi Case commented, “It’s laughable how little work has actually been put into this ‘plan’. There is literally next to zero information there about anything specific. Sounds like you just randomly divided the $6.6B pile into basic operation costs and left it at that.”
Another social media user, John Ryan, wrote, “Ohhhh so you meant solve world hunger for 1 year. Doesn’t sound as appealing when you mention the 1 year part versus just saying ‘6.6B can solve world hunger’ lol.”
The WFP explains the reasons for the current world hunger problem are “a perfect storm” of environmental change caused by global warming, international and domestic conflicts, and the coronavirus pandemic.
Elon Musk is yet to respond to Beasley’s latest comments.
