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Thiago Resende Xavier

FROM BRAZIL TO PAKISTAN—SOUTH-SOUTH

COOPERATION IN ACTION

Thiago Resende Xavier joined WFP in Pakistan as a UN Volunteer,
working at the intersection of policy and partnerships. He contributed
to Pakistan’s national Zero Hunger Programme, a comprehensive effort
shaped by Brazil’s Fome Zero and supported by FAO, WFP, UNICEF and
other development partners.

As a UN Volunteer, Thiago worked with Pakistan's Ministry of National 55
Food Security and Research. There, he supported the government in
coordinating food security programmes, drafting policy documents,
and strengthening links between national and provincial stakeholders.

At the heart of the programme was a shared commitment to ending
hunger, one that required not just technical expertise, but trust, dialogue
and cross-cultural understanding. Thiago travelled to provincial regions
to help build awareness and local ownership of the initiative, connecting
national goals with everyday realities.

Thiago Resende Xavier, during the UN Volunteers “By living in a cultural environment so distant from my own,” he shared,
Partnerships Forum 2016, in Bonn, Germany. [UNV, 2016] “I’m able to put in perspective my values and improve my ability to
empathize with colleagues from different backgrounds. This gives me the
chance to reflect about volunteerism, its universal acknowledgement
and the impact it can have on peace and development.”

“It was especially rewarding to consider that as a
citizen of a Global South country, I was helping to

support progress in another: I was part of South-
South cooperation in action!”