Be a Doer: Forward the Facts
By Sung Lee
Speaking at The Chicago Council on Global Affairs’ event last week, USAID administrator Rajiv Shah urged the public to participate in the relief efforts for famine-hit Horn of Africa and the critical need to sustain America’s long-term commitments to invest in global agricultural development through the Feed the Future Initiative.
FWD Campaign: spread the word about the Horn of Africa
“More than half of all Americans responded directly to the crisis in Haiti,” said administrator Shah. Famine in the Horn of Africa is “affecting four times as many people. And yet most people have not been aware of it and just don’t see in the news the crisis that is unfolding.”
USAID’s first-ever public awareness campaign, called FWD - Famine, War, Drought - developed television and web ads featuring Dr. Jill Biden as well as prominent actors to help spread the word and elevate the profile of the crisis in the Horn of Africa, and to spur relief efforts to those affected by the famine. The campaign suggests that people text ‘GIVE’ to 777444 and donate $10 to a group of humanitarian organizations including World Vision and the UN World Food Program.
“$10 will feed a child for a week in one of these refugee camps. It is impossible for us to imagine that this is true but that is in fact true. That is how cheap it is,” said Shah.
Situation in the Horn of Africa remains volatile
The Horn of Africa faces its worst drought in 60 years. More than 30,000 children have already died and families have walked hundreds of miles to Dadaab refugee camp, which has now become the third largest city in Kenya.
“Our emphasis is on saving lives now,” said Mr. Paul Macek, senior director of food security and livelihood for World Vision, which is currently providing food aid in Ethiopia, Kenya, and parts of Somalia. He mentioned working with the UN World Food Program in Kenya to quickly deliver nutritious food such as Plumpy’nut to malnourished children. Plumpy’nut is a ready to use and highly therapeutic food packed with calories and vitamins, specially designed to feed starving children.
By working together with the global community and humanitarian groups, Shah estimates that more than 8 million lives were saved through rapid deliveries of vaccinations and nutritious food.
However, Shah noted, the situation in Somalia remains grim largely due to Al-Shabaab, a group with links to al-Qaeda, who is responsible for blocking food aid and other humanitarian assistance to starving children.
“The famine, actual high death rates for kids, is more localized in Somalia,” he said. “The United Nations now formally estimates that without improved access, more than 750,000 additional people in Somalia may die from starvation in the next 6 months.” He also warned that more people could die from water borne diseases and affirmed America’s continued commitments to help the people in need in the region.
Feed the Future is investing in a long-term agricultural development
“We made this commitment to invest $3.5 billion in a different, resulted-oriented program that would help alleviate hunger and food security in more sustainable way going forward,” said Shah. According to the USAID, the Feed the Future Initiative is investing in countries to develop their own agricultural system that are resilient enough to absorb price shocks or an environmental dilemma such as famine.
Public-private partnerships are a critical component of the Feed the Future Initiative, said Shah. He mentioned USAID’s partnership with Land O’Lakes to increase farmers’ income by improving the management of their livestocks system and increasing their access to markets. He also discussed USAID’s partnership with Swiss Re to develop market- and science-based insurance program to mitigate farmers’ future risks.
Shah highlighted USAID’s collaborative efforts with America’s land grant universities, research institutions and companies like Monsanto and DuPont to develop highly nutritious and drought-resistant variety products such as orange sweet potatoes. Research collaborations, said Shah, have helped to triple agricultural yields in Kenya.
Products like orange sweet potatoes have proven to be successful in the field as well. Funded by USAID, World Vision introduced and successfully scaled up the production of sweet potatoes in Mozambique. Now, famers like Manuel Andrade have food to feed their families, survive the drought and have enough surpluses to earn money.
Development assistance is cost-effective and good for the U.S. economy
“In this fiscally constraint environment, development assistance is about one eighth of the cost of humanitarian food aid,” said Shah. They cost a lot less than engaging failed state through military means. Former Secretary of Defense Robert Gates also made this linkage clear last year when he said, “development is a lot cheaper than sending soldiers.”
“US development assistance is less than 1 percent of the overall federal budget,” Shah continued and it wins friends and future partners. Shah pointed out South Korea as an example of the power of a targeted US development assistance. In less than 50 years, South Korea has transformed itself from aid recipients to America’s seventh largest trading partner, responsible for creating more than 250,000 American jobs in the United States.
Forward the facts about the Horn of Africa famine
“When you have the opportunity to visit a refugee camp [Dadaab], it really reminds you of the common humanity that we share and our obligations and responsibilities to express that common humanities through our actions,” said Shah. “Good news is that our actions make a difference in saving lives.”
For more information about the USAID FWD Campaign, please visit: http://action.usaid.gov/index.php
For a list of FWD Campaign partners, please visit: http://action.usaid.gov/partners.php
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