GFSA will ensure that smallholder farmers, particularly women, are empowered to feed their families and communities
WASHINGTON, DC (March 10, 2016) — The global poverty-fighting organization CARE celebrates the passage today of the Global Food Security Act (S.1252) by the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. The bill is an important step forward in the fight to end hunger and build just and sustainable food systems.
The Global Food Security Act requires a comprehensive global food and nutrition security strategy that places women at the center of the fight to end hunger and leverages taxpayer dollars by coordinating U.S. global food security programming.
One in 9 people in the world suffers from chronic hunger, and poor nutrition causes nearly half the deaths of children younger than 5 — 3.1 million children each year. But if women farmers had the same access to productive resources as men, they could increase yields on their farms by 20 percent to 30 percent – and the number of hungry people in the world would drop by up to 150 million.
“Building women’s and smallholder’s capacity – through information, skills and techniques – and empowering them to make decisions is vital to ensuring they can adapt to changing conditions,” said David Ray, vice president for Advocacy at CARE. “It’s important that we keep the momentum going and make this a law.”
Through an effective, transparent and sustainable approach, the Global Food Security Act will ensure that smallholder farmers and women are empowered to feed their families and their own communities. This bill would sustain and improve U.S. programs, including the Feed the Future initiative, in order to support sustainable and equitable agricultural development, reduce global hunger and improve nutrition.
Last year, the House companion of the Global Food Security Act (H.R.1567) unanimously passed out of the House Foreign Affairs Committee and awaits consideration by the full House of Representatives. CARE applauds these advances and calls on both the Senate and House to pass the Global Food Security Act and require a coordinated U.S. response to ending hunger (Sign the petition to urge support for the Global Food Security Act).
About CARE
Founded in 1945 with the creation of the CARE Package®, CARE is a leading humanitarian organization fighting global poverty. CARE places special focus on working alongside women and girls because, equipped with the proper resources, they have the power to lift whole families and entire communities out of poverty. That’s why women and girls are at the heart of CARE’s community-based efforts to improve education and health, create economic opportunity, respond to emergencies and confront hunger. Last year CARE worked in 95 countries and reached more than 65 million people around the world. To learn more, visit www.care.org.
Media Contacts
Brian Feagans, bfeagans@care.org; 404-979-9453
Nicole Harris, nharris@care.org, 404-735-0871