CARE Applauds President Obama's Call for Increased Focus on Food Security:
"CARE Applauds President Obama's Call for Increased Focus on Food Security
Humanitarian agency urges public support for fight to end global poverty
WASHINGTON, D.C. (April 2, 2009) - The international poverty-fighting organization CARE applauds President Barack Obama's focus on alleviating chronic hunger and lifting global communities out of poverty. At the G20 summit, the president called for doubling assistance for food security and increasing foreign assistance projects to alleviate chronic hunger that affects nearly one billion people worldwide.
'We know that the cycle of poverty will never be broken unless people are given the tools to end chronic hunger and become self-sufficient so they can provide adequate food for themselves, their families, and their communities. The fact that the president and concerned leaders on Capitol Hill understand this gives us hope for ending the crippling hunger that keeps so many people mired in dire poverty,' said Dr. Helene Gayle, president and CEO of CARE.
A few years ago when CARE took the bold step of pulling back from the historical practice of selling U.S. food on the open market in poor countries to fund development projects, the questions poured in. Why would any humanitarian agency essentially turn away money for its programs? There is a plain answer to that complex question. Simply put, CARE believes that humanitarian aid should serve the long-term purpose of ending poverty. U.S. food aid policy fell far short. It needed to be changed.
The president has made it clear that food security, a key priority for his administration, means setting policies and programs that contribute to safety and prosperity for developing nations as well as ours. When we address the underlying causes of food insecurity and malnutrition, we are well on the way to tackling the root causes of extreme poverty.
We encourage Americans to support the president's request for increased foreign assistance. We also call on fellow citizens to support provisions of the Global Food Security Act of 2009, authored by U.S. Sen. Dick Lugar and Sen. Robert Casey (D-PA) and approved by the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on March 31.
The legislation authorizes additional funding for agricultural assistance. It also calls for a comprehensive strategy that takes a whole of government approach to address global food insecurity.
CARE played an integral role in drafting the 'Roadmap to End Global Hunger' a collective effort by the NGO community which lays out a vision for U.S. leadership to end global hunger. Both the Food Security Act and the president's call today address key concerns raised in the Roadmap.
