Just months after Elon Musk had a public spat on Twitter about what the true cost of "solving world hunger would be", the head of the U.N.'s World Food Program is urging billionaires to "step up" and confront the global threat of food insecurity.
The WFP boss had previously said "All we need is $6.6B—just .36% of the top 400 US billionaires' net worth increase last year" in order to control a humanitarian crisis where in 42 million people in 43 countries face famine.
Musk had previously offered $6 billion if if the World Food Programme could provide him "open sourced accounting" on how the $6 billion would be used to solve world hunger. Musk demanded that the public "see precisely how the money is spent" at the time.
Today, that $6 billion sits in limbo somewhere.
Agency Executive Director David Beasley told ABC this week: "Since then, Musk put $6 billion into a foundation. But everybody thought it came to us, but we ain't gotten any of it yet. So I'm hopeful."
"I don't know what it's going to take. We're trying every angle, you know: Elon, we need your help, brother," he continued.
The push by Beasley comes on the heels of a study that showed 1.9 billion people could face food insecurity by November. The report was presented at the Global Citizen NOW Summit in New York Monday.
Global Citizen CEO Hugh Evans said of the report: "The projections are bleak right now. This doesn't have to happen. A lot of institutions are failing people."
He is hoping that launching the Global Citizen Impact Fund will help convince billionaires to donate, since it only requires payments on "pledges based on results".
"The world is in real serious trouble. This is not rhetoric and B.S. Step up now, because the world needs you," Beasley told the world's billionaire's on Monday.
Beasley also commented that if "Ukraine's supplies remain off the market, the world could face a food availability problem in the next 10 to 12 months."
Meanwhile, the whereabouts of Musk's $6 billion as it relates to how it will help fight hunger, still remain unknown for the most part.
(Article by Tyler Durden republished from Zerohedge.com)