Pope Francis has appealed to world leaders at the G20 summit in Hamburg, Germany, to seek urgent solutions to conflicts in Africa and the Middle East, saying some 30 million people are suffering without enough food and water.

In a message to the leaders, he said war “is never a solution” and efforts needed to be stepped up to resolve “the tragic situation in South Sudan, the Lake Chad basin, the Horn of Africa and Yemen, where 30 million people are lacking the food and water needed to survive”.

There needed to be “immediate support” for the 30 million, without discrimination along the lines of race, religion or naionality, Pope Francis added.