Statement of Support for U.S. Global Food Security Legislation

Published August 4, 2014

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Yesterday, along with 60 other organizations fighting hunger and poverty, World Food Program USA signed onto a statement of support of legislation that ensures U.S. leadership in improving food security.

The full statement reads:

As organizations engaged in efforts to end global hunger, malnutrition, and extreme poverty, we strongly support bipartisan introduction and passage of legislation to ensure continued U.S. leadership in improving food and nutrition security. As the U.S.–Africa Leaders Summit takes place this week, we recognize that legislation is necessary to improve upon and build from the successes that we have seen through the Feed the Future program.

 

Globally, 842 million people are hungry, and malnutrition causes approximately half of all deaths of children under 5 (3.1 million children) each year. Hunger and malnutrition rob poor people of healthy, productive lives and stunt the mental and physical development of future generations.

 

After decades of declining support for farmers in developing countries, renewed U.S. leadership from President Bush and now President Obama has sparked a global commitment to help people feed themselves. Governments, nongovernmental and civil society organizations, academic and research institutions, multilateral institutions, and farmers themselves have all recommitted to fighting hunger and poverty through new agriculture-focused investments.

 

The U.S. government’s global hunger and food security initiative, Feed the Future, takes a comprehensive, sustainable approach to agricultural development and food and nutrition security. Drawing on resources and expertise from 11 federal agencies, Feed the Future is investing in country-owned plans and is helping countries, including 19 focus countries in Africa, Latin America and Asia, transform their agricultural sectors and sustainably produce enough nutritious food to feed their people. Feed the Future has already achieved impressive results: in 2013, Feed the Future reached more than 12.5 million children with nutrition interventions and helped nearly 7 million farmers and producers with new technologies and management practices on more than 4 million hectares of land.

 

We strongly urge Congress to introduce bipartisan legislation this September, and we pledge to work with Congress and the administration to support passage of legislation that will ensure continued U.S. leadership on global food and nutrition security and poverty reduction. Legislation should include the development and implementation of a comprehensive, whole-of-government strategy to combat hunger and malnutrition in developing countries. This strategy should support country ownership and emphasize the important role of small-scale producers and local food economies. It should prioritize sustainable agricultural development, improving nutrition, gender equality and female empowerment, building the resilience of communities, safety nets for the most vulnerable food insecure populations, environmental protection, capacity building, research, and civil society engagement. It should also improve upon existing monitoring and evaluation practices to ensure U.S. taxpayer investments are implemented transparently, efficiently, and effectively.

 

Engaging the expertise and unique contributions from U.S. non-governmental organizations, civil society, research and academic institutions, and the private sector will be crucial going forward. NGO alliance InterAction and its members have already pledged to spend over $1.5 billion in private resources on food security, agriculture, and nutrition from 2013 to 2015, as a reflection of a strong commitment to these important issues.

 

We look forward to continuing to work with Congress and the administration to support legislation and sustainably fight hunger, malnutrition, and extreme poverty around the world.

 

  1. ACDI/VOCA
  2. ActionAid International USA
  3. Action Against Hunger USA
  4. Alliance for Global Food Security
  5. Alliance to End Hunger
  6. American Academy of Pediatrics
  7. American Jewish World Service
  8. Association for International
  9. Agriculture and Rural Development
  10. Association of Public and Land-Grant Universities
  11. Bread for the World
  12. CARE USA
  13. Catholic Relief Services
  14. Centscere
  15. ChildFund International
  16. Church World Service
  17. Congressional Hunger Center
  18. Convoy of Hope
  19. Edesia
  20. Evangelical Lutheran Church in America
  21. Fabretto Children’s Foundation
  22. Farm Journal Foundation
  23. Food for the Hungry
  24. Friends Committee on National Legislation
  25. Global Communities
  26. Global Harvest Initiative
  27. Global Water Challenge
  28. GrainPro Inc.
  29. Heifer International
  30. Helen Keller International
  31. INMED Partnerships for Children
  32. IntraHealth International, Inc.
  33. InterAction
  34. International Medical Corps
  35. International Relief & Development
  36. Land O’Lakes International Development
  37. Lutheran World Relief
  38. Mercy Corps
  39. NCBA CLUSA
  40. Nutrition and Education International
  41. One Acre Fund
  42. ONE Campaign
  43. Outreach, Inc.
  44. Oxfam America
  45. PATH
  46. Relief International
  47. ReSurge International
  48. Save the Children
  49. Self Help Africa
  50. The Borgen Project
  51. The Global Foodbanking Network
  52. The Hunger Project
  53. The Six-Second Project
  54. The United Methodist Church, General Board of Church and Society
  55. Volunteers for Economic Growth Alliance (VEGA)
  56. WASH Advocates
  57. Water for South Sudan
  58. Winrock International
  59. Women Thrive Worldwide
  60. World Concern
  61. World Food Program USA
  62. World Vision

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