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Governments and aid groups ought to do more to assist the world’s hungry create sustainable agricultural systems, U.S. Agriculture Department (USDA) Undersecretary James Miller stated during an address Wednesday on the final day with the International Food Aid and Development Conference, the Associated Press reports (Hollingsworth, 8/4).
“According to U.S. government estimates, far more than 1 billion people – practically a sixth of the world’s population – suffer from acute hunger in developing countries. Much more than 3.five million kids die each year from hunger,” the Kansas City Star reports (Gikunju, 8/4).
At the conference, Miller discussed the U.S. Feed the Future initiative – a program geared towards bolstering local food “productivity and improving markets in places exactly where regional trade may be limited and much of what is grown spoils before it reaches starving men and women,” the AP continues. The initiative also places “an emphasis on allowing poor nations to set priorities for aid projects,” the news service notes.
“We recognize that this is not a project that any 1 country can achieve on its own, but we’re going to have to draw from the experiences, expertise and resources that exist across every part with the United States and all parts of the world – public resources and private resources alike,” Miller said.
Following a commitment by G8 leaders in July 2009 to contribute much more than $20 billion to fight hunger right after high food prices led to “a series of riots in some countries,” the Obama administration unveiled the U.S. plans to invest $3.5 billion over a three-year period in Could 2010. “We will offer financial and technical assistance so that countries can find a approach to not only feed the folks that are so in need to have nowadays but find techniques to grow their economies so that they are a lot more self sustaining within the future,” Miller said.
The AP article details Miller’s comments on future food challenges, the continued need to have for humanitarian help to help the poor and those facing disasters and also the growing U.S. interest in tapping into mechanisms such as private money and trade to assist poor countries to become much more able to feed their own populations. The post also includes comments from a manager from the Food for the Hungry group, who addresses the importance of country ownership in meeting hunger requirements (8/4).
The Kansas City Star notes that participants from the African Growth and Opportunity Act Conference (AGOA) arrived in Kansas City Wednesday to continue their focus on “trade and investment relations between Africa along with the United States. The AGOA Conference, which started on Monday in Washington, aims to boost Africa’s economic growth by easing access towards the American market by eliminating trade tariffs,” the newspaper notes.
The newspaper also includes comments from Miller on the news that a drought in Russia is resulting in escalating wheat prices. “Miller stated, the bumper wheat harvest in the United States will stabilize prices with the grain. … The USDA undersecretary predicted the bumper harvest expected in America will plug any shortfall inside the international markets,” the newspaper writes.
“We’ll continue to see the volatility until harvesting inside the Northern Hemisphere currently below way is concluded,” Miller stated (8/4).
This info was reprinted from globalhealth.kff.org with kind permission from the Henry J. Kaiser Loved ones Foundation. You’ll be able to view the whole Kaiser Daily Global Wellness Policy Report, search the archives and sign up for e-mail delivery at globalhealth.kff.org.
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