LONDON, ENGLAND — The United Kingdom will launch a new science center where experts will develop climate resilient crops such as flood-tolerant rice and disease-resistant wheat and identify risks to global food systems, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said during a one-day Global Food Security Summit in London.

The new virtual science hub will be led CGIAR, a global research partnership that unites international organizations working on food security to make global food systems more resilient to future shocks in a changing climate. It will link UK scientists with research initiatives that will develop crops that can withstand the impacts of climate change and are more disease resistant.

Sunak and delegates from about 20 countries gathered Nov. 20 for the summit co-hosted by Somalia and the United Arab Emirates alongside the Children’s Investment Fund Foundation and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

Sunak urged the international community to address the underlying causes of food insecurity, build more resilient food systems and to act now to prevent food crises and malnutrition.

“We must take action to address the underlying, and often unseen, causes of global food insecurity,” Sunak said. “From the impact of Russia’s war in Ukraine, to the effect of major natural disasters on food production, I am proud that alongside our partners, the UK is playing a leading role in finding solutions to some of the greatest global challenges of our time.”

The summit coincided with the publication of a development strategy setting out the UK’s aid plans through 2030 aimed at ending extreme poverty and tackling climate change and biodiversity loss.

Climate change, conflict, the long-term impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic and the effects of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on global food supply are the main drivers of current food insecurity, the UK government noted.

Up to £100 million in humanitarian funding is being released by the UK to countries worst hit by food insecurity, including Ethiopia, Sudan, South Sudan and Afghanistan, and to countries reeling from climate-related cyclones and droughts, like Malawi.

“Many children go to bed hungry and malnourished,” said Andrew Mitchell, International Development Minister. “At this summit, the UK and its partners will be united in our determination to change that. Cutting-edge science and innovative partnerships will help Britain create a healthier, more secure and prosperous world for us all.”