WASHINGTON (March 14, 2018) – Michelle Nunn, president and CEO of CARE, urged legislators today to consider the important role that food security plays in combating poverty, particularly for women and girls, during testimony before the Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee on Multilateral International Development, Multilateral Institutions and International Economic, Energy and Environmental Policy.
CARE, along with experts from the U.S. Agency for International Development’s Office of Food for Peace, the United Nations’ World Food Programme, World Food Program USA and the United States Marine Corps, provided testimony to the Subcommittee, urging policymakers to prioritize global food security, particularly given the current pressing humanitarian challenges.
“U.S. government investments in food security have transformed communities and the trajectory of nations,” Nunn said. “Congress can continue their commitment this year by reauthorizing the Global Food Security Act (GFSA). At CARE, we stand ready and willing to continue our partnership with the U.S. government to end global hunger and poverty – for good.”
Over 815 million people currently do not have enough food to eat. While emergency response and food aid are crucial in many circumstances, our goal must be to lessen the severity and impact of emergencies by focusing on developing each country’s self-reliance and ability to meet their own population’s needs.
Despite clear and well-documented results that demonstrate the important role of long-term investments in food security, the president’s budget requests for FY18 and FY19 propose the elimination of programs that provide emergency food assistance and build resilience for communities and families. Without these programs, droughts, floods and other impacts of climate disruptions will wreak havoc on small-scale farmers – many of whom are women – driving up food insecurity and poverty globally.
In fiscal year 2016, almost 11 million farmers were reached with improved technologies, management practice and increased market access. A funding cut of 48 percent to Feed the Future programs, as proposed by the Trump administration, could translate to approximately 5.28 million farmers being cut from or losing access to programs that help them grow their way out of poverty and decrease dependency.
CARE looks forward to working with Congress and the administration to ensure we continue our U.S. leadership role in combating food insecurity and fighting global poverty.
About CARE:
Founded in 1945, CARE is a leading humanitarian organization fighting global poverty. CARE places special focus on working alongside poor girls and women because, equipped with the proper resources, they have the power to lift whole families and entire communities out of poverty. Last year, CARE worked in 94 countries and reached more than 80 million people around the world. To learn more, please visit www.care.org.
Media Contact:
Nicole Ellis, +1-202-595-2828, nicole.ellis@care.org