May 14, 2008
Matthew Borghese - AHN Editor
Washington, D.C. (AHN) - International demand for food continues to outpace supply, prompting the United States to step up its humanitarian efforts to feed the world's poor, the head of an American aid agency said Wednesday.
Photo: A poultry vendor takes a mix of birds on his moped to the market in Bobo Dioulasso
Henrietta Fore, administrator of the U.S. Agency for International Development, made the statement during testimony before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee about American efforts to boost food production as well as a recent trip to Southeast Asia to provide aid to cyclone-hit Myanmar.
"Today we are facing an extraordinary number of humanitarian crises that strike the hardest at the world's most destitute people," Fore said. "We are in the midst of a global food crisis unlike other food crises we have faced, one not caused simply by natural disasters, conflict or any single event such as a drought. It is not localized, but pervasive and widespread, affecting the poor in developing countries around the world. It is times like these, where working in close collaboration with Congress, that America's humanitarian global leadership performs at its highest level."
"From January to December 2007, the international food price index rose by 43 percent, compared with just 9 percent in 2006. While sharply higher prices have been welcome news for some farmers, they mean hardship for many, and for the poorest subsisting on $1 day or less, food price increases mean deprivation and real hunger. Experts tell us that the situation underlying the crisis is not a temporary one; demand for grain is outstripping supply," Fore continued.
Fore indicated that USAID would increase its efforts to address the "core causes of chronic hunger" in three key areas: expansion of humanitarian assistance where it was most critically needed; attacking the underlying causes of food insecurity; and addressing trade policies that cause food prices to rise or stay high.
"We will save lives both through short-term immediate food assistance and long-term help to increase agricultural production, so that food, whether domestically produced or traded, is both more available and more affordable," Fore added. "We will respond to urgent needs, but also will help small farmers increase production of key food staples in targeted countries and regions."
Fore also detailed her trip to Myanmar, where the military junta in Yangon has been criticized for not allowing international aid to help the victims of Cyclone Nargis.
"Clearly, we face major challenges ensuring that our assistance reaches those most in need - we are in a race against time as hundreds of thousands of Burmese are in extremely dire circumstances. The catastrophic cyclone in Burma, hitting that country's major rice producing region in the middle of the rice harvest, is a reminder of the fragile food situation we face in many developing countries," Fore said.
http://www.allheadlinenews.com/articles/7010953682