Thousands are expected to attend a rally in London on Saturday to demand that world leaders tackle the causes of global hunger.

The Big IF London event in Hyde Park takes place a week before G8 leaders meet in Northern Ireland.

The IF campaign has brought together the major UK development agencies, such as Oxfam, Christian Aid and Tearfund, and focuses on four main areas that need to be tackled to reduce the scandal of global hunger.

The campaign launched in January and is on a scale with the Make Poverty History Campaign from 2005. Both the Baptist Union of Great Britain and BMS World Mission are among 200 supporting organisations of IF, and both will have representatives on Saturday.

The Revd Stephen Keyworth, BUGB Faith and Society team leader, is representing our Baptist Union in the ecumenical service at Methodist Central Hall at 11.30, and alongside other denominational leaders will be among the first groups to lead a walk of witness from Westminster to Hyde Park for the Big IF rally. A group from BMS will also be there.

Mr Keyworth said, 'There is enough food to feed everyone in the world, but the tragic fact is that 2 million children will die this year from hunger.
'We need to challenge the factors - aid, land, tax and transparency - that have contributed to this injustice, and that's why we are committed to supporting the IF Campaign.'

The Revd David Kerrigan, General Director of BMS World Mission, said the aims of IF 'are our aims too.'

He added, 'We're grateful to every Christian who supports our work among the hungry through giving and prayer, and we hope that by joining the IF campaign, followers of Jesus will add their voices to a global call for justice that could eliminate the systemic causes of hunger worldwide.' 

The Revd Rowan Williams, the former Archbishop of Canterbury, will be one of the speakers in Hyde Park. He said, 'Given the amount of public attention that there is on the question of availability of food in our world today, you might think this is a problem we'd solved, but that's why this is such a timely campaign.

'The production and availability of food, the issue of hunger, brings together so many different areas of concern in our world.'

Related: Al Roxburgh writes from inside Christian Aid's headquarters ahead of Big IF London

For information visit www.christian-aid.org/if