Despite last year’s significant challenges and setbacks in the fight against hunger, including a faltering PHOTO 1 Right) global economy, exacerbation of humanitarian needs in places such as Haiti, Sudan and Ethiopia and an increase in the number of the world’s hungry to more than 1 billion people, there have been significant successes and milestones as well. February 24 marked the one-year anniversary of the launch of the Roadmap to End Global Hunger, a landmark effort that has played a significant role in uniting the international NGO community and shaping the new, comprehensive U.S. government initiative to address global hunger.

 

In 2008, amidst skyrocketing global food prices and a deteriorating global economy, Friends of the World Food Program (Friends of WFP) helped unite more than 40 international NGOs around the Roadmap – a vision for U.S. leadership in achieving the first Millennium Development Goal of cutting extreme hunger and malnutrition in half by 2015. Several reports released earlier that year by think tanks, government agencies, the United Nations and others highlighted longstanding U.S. leadership in fighting global hunger, but also noted several key factors that have hindered previous U.S. and global efforts. These include the lack of a comprehensive U.S. strategy that focuses on addressing both immediate and long-term needs, as well as insufficient governmental coordination.

 

Drawing on the analytical framework provided by these reports and the growing consensus among the NGO community regarding the need for a more holistic approach to fighting hunger, the Roadmap outlined the comprehensive strategy, necessary funding levels and government coordination needed to bolster U.S. efforts in this area.   

 

The Roadmap’s comprehensive strategy includes four pillars of activities needed to address hunger in the short, intermediate and long-term. This approach is vital because hunger takes many forms, from those devastated by earthquakes, to poorly nourished mothers and children, to smallholder farmers struggling to produce enough food to generate a profit. The four pillars include emergency response and management programs to save lives by providing immediate assistance; safety net programs such as school meals and food voucher programs, to help meet the basic needs of populations vulnerable to societal shocks; nutrition programs that provide people with the nutrients necessary to live healthy, productive lives; and agricultural development programs to increase the productivity and profitability of smallholder farmers, which is critical to breaking the cycle of hunger among the vast majority of the world’s poor who live in rural areas and rely on agriculture for their livelihoods. 

 

The Roadmap also helped shape the unprecedented U.S. Global Food Security Initiative. In a series of high-level announcements this past year, including at the G20, G8 and UN General Assembly summits, the administration outlined an initiative that incorporates all four pillars of the comprehensive strategy.  Furthermore, the administration has signaled its intent to appoint a Global Hunger and Food Security Coordinator to enhance government coordination, which is a key recommendation of the Roadmap.  In Congress, the Roadmap resulted in the introduction of the Roadmap to End Hunger and Promote Global Food Security Act (H.R. 2817) as well as increased funding for key programs to address global hunger. 

 

While the Roadmap has engendered tremendous success and cause for optimism this past year, there is much work to be done and key challenges remain. For example, the U.S. government will need to help foster effective, in-country programs to help poor countries develop their own comprehensive hunger-alleviation plans. Strong indicators are needed to help measure progress and identify alternate approaches if targets are not being reached. Additional coordination within Congress will also be critical, as there are many Congressional committees with a role in funding the new initiative. Increased and sustained funding from the United States and the global community for all of the elements of a comprehensive approach will be needed to ensure long-term success in some of the world’s poorest countries. 

 

Despite these and other remaining challenges, Friends of WFP is confident that if the United States successfully implements many of the Roadmap’s principles that it has outlined, then we will make a significant and lasting impact in alleviating global hunger.  

 

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