American Leadership in Hunger Crisis Will Help Address Worldwide Need

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The ONE Campaign praised President Bush’s Thursday announcement of $770 million in funding to address the suffering caused worldwide by the hunger crisis. The funds include $150 million to support the long-term solution that was part of what more than 134,000 members of the ONE Campaign asked the President to support and provide leadership on at the upcoming G8 summit.

Long-term agricultural productivity requires a multi-year effort in order for the developing world to access the tools and resources it requires to feed itself. Devising this strategy must be a central focus of the upcoming meeting of G8 leaders in Japan.

“The President and Congress are looking for a rapid response to the hunger crisis. The emergency funds that the President requested represent a good step forward, and ONE hopes Congress will approve the dollars quickly, ” David Lane, President and CEO of ONE, said. “The President’s request is part of what must be a coordinated international effort to address the crisis. The ONE Campaign has called on President Bush and the other G8 leaders to make the food crisis a priority at the upcoming Japan summit, and we are encouraged it has been added to the summit agenda. The hunger crisis is an international challenge requiring an international solution.”

Lane continued, “The price of inaction is enormous. More than 100 million people could be pushed deeper into poverty. The current situation threatens to exacerbate the twin crises of hunger and malnutrition; already, under-nutrition contributes to almost half of all child deaths and more than 20% of maternal deaths. The President and Congress need to work together on this short-term funding approach, while the White House must continue to press for a stronger and more lasting international response. America has the opportunity to lead the response, but it will take the combined focus and efforts of all the G8 nations in order to devise and implement the long-term solution.”

The President’s announcement of $770 million in funding contains $395 million for PL 480; $225 million for the Disaster Assistance Account which will allow for food to be purchased locally in order to get food where it is needed more quickly; and $150 million for agricultural development. The funds will be included in the FY09 supplemental money, which Congress is expected to consider together with the currently pending FY08 supplemental. The funds will not be available until October 1.

One week after more than 100,000 Americans called on President Bush to prioritize the food crisis at the upcoming G8 Summit in Japan in July, Japanese Prime Minister Fukuda notified the other leaders of G8 nations that the hunger crisis was added to the agenda for the G8 summit. Now it is critical for President Bush to encourage his counterparts in other G8 countries to make similar commitments to help address this ongoing global crisis.

The ONE Campaign is a global advocacy organization uniting millions of people to press government leaders to fight extreme poverty and preventable disease around the world. For more information, visit www.ONE.org.