FROM OUR BACKYARD TO YOURS:SAVING VULNERABLE LIVES THROUGH NUTRITIOUS FOOD

AID

Titilope AkinloseNovember 29, 2012HPA 430

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1E99JKvwDjs

SPOTLIGHT: TOHOMINA

There is an estimate of 870 million hungry people in the world  98 percent of them are in developing countries 

Three-quarters of all hungry people live in rural areas. mainly in villages dependent on agriculture for food

More than 60% of chronically hungry people are women.

Each year, 17 million children are born underweight because their mothers are malnourished.

More than 16,000 children die each day from hunger-related conditions.

FIRST, SOME GENERAL FACTS

Why are they important? Rural women produce more than 55% of all food grown in

developing countries.

Surveys in a wide range of countries have shown that women provide 85 – 90% of the time spent on household food preparation.

Women are essentially the ones growing and preparing the food that feed themselves and their children.

But, there is still a growing number of hungry and malnourished women and children..

THE FOCUS ON WOMEN AND CHILDREN

United States food aid has an important role Almost half of global food aid comes from the United States

Three areas of US contribution to global food aid1. donors compiled by the International Grains Council (IGC)2. contributions to the United Nations World Food Program

(WFP), 3. the U.S. commitment under the 1999 Food Aid Convention

(FAC).

Data from the International Grains Council show that U.S. food aid accounted for 58% of food aid shipments by major donors during 1995/96-2008/09.

A substantial portion of U.S. food aid is channeled through the WFP. During 1996-2010, around 48% of donor contributions to the WFP came from the United States.

OUR ROLE?

The types of food provided by the US in general food aid distribution does address hunger by providing needed calories However, ensuring nutrition to vulnerable population

(WOMEN AND CHILDREN) has not being a high priority.

Sustainability! Women need to be provided with agricultural training, and

also educated on maternal & child health and nutrition

THE ISSUE

Around 50% of pregnant women in developing countries are anemic. About 315,000 women die annually from hemorrhage at childbirth.

Malnourished mothers often give birth to underweight babies who are 20 percent more likely to die before the age of five. As a result, women, and in particular expectant and nursing

mothers, often need special or increased intake of food.

Malnutrition claims the lives of almost 3 million children every year, yet virtually all of these deaths are preventable.

Malnutrition also leads to stunted brain development, poorer health, a limited ability to learn, and reduced adult productivity.

WHY IS THIS AN ISSUE?

The benefi ts to improving nutrition of US food aid and agricultural training:

1. Healthy women means healthy children2. Healthy children provide a promising future for

developing countries3. Knowledgeable women can improve local agriculture

Leading economists and health experts agree that investing in nutrition during the 1,000 days from pregnancy to age 2 is one of the most cost-eff ective and powerful ways to help families climb out of poverty and build self-suffi ciency – and to help countries create long-term economic growth.

THE BENEFITS

H.R 4141 – International Food Assistance Improvement Act of 2012 International Food Assistance Improvement Act of 2012 - Amends the

Food for Peace Act to direct the Administrator of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) to improve the nutritional quality of U.S. food assistance.

POLICY ASPECT

Donald M. PayneUS Rep for New Jersey’s 10th Congressional District

• He introduced the act this year• The Act was renamed:

• Donald M. Payne International Food Assistance Improvement Act of 2012.

SEC. 4. PROVISION OF AGRICULTURAL COMMODITIES. Section 202(h) of the Food for Peace Act (7 U.S.C. 1722(h)) is amended by striking paragraph (1) and inserting the following:

(1) In general.--The Administrator shall use funds made available in fi scal year 2012 and subsequent fi scal years to carry out this title to improve the nutritional quality of United States food assistance, particularly for vulnerable groups such as pregnant and lactating mothers, and children under the age of six, by increasing lipid-based, fortifi ed, and other nutrition-dense products included in the food aid commodities list, with a focus on the cost-eff ective 1,000 days between pregnancy and age 2. The administrator shall incorporate agricultural training and education for women into a sustainability program, and also provide nutrition based maternal and child healthcare education.

AMENDMENT

POLICY PARAMOURS

Donald Payne Jr.US Rep for New Jersey’s 10th Congressional District, (D)

Barbara BoxerCalifornia Senator, (D)Democratic Chief Deputy Whip• Committee on Foreign Relations

• Subcommittee on international operations and organizations, human rights, democracy, and global women’s issues, (Chair)

"I've said that I'm following a legacy and I'm not backing away from that."

POLICY PARAMOURS

Barbara LeeUS Rep for California’s 9th Congressional District, (D)• Co-sponsor of Act

Kristi NoemUS Rep for South Dakota’s at-large Congressional District, (R)• Committee on Education and

Workforce• Committee on Natural Resources

• She is a farmer and rancher

POLICY PARAMOURS

Ben CardinMaryland Senator, (D)• Committee on Foreign

Relations• Subcommittee on international

development and foreign assistance, economic affairs, and international environmental protection, (Chair)

Bob Casey, Jr.Pennsylvania Senator, (D)• Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and

Forestry• Subcommittee on nutrition, specialty crops,

food and agricultural research, (Chair)

United States Agency for International Development (USAID)

United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Center for Nutrition Policy and Promotion (CNPP) National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA)

United States International Trade Commission (USITC)Food and Drug Administration (FDA)Globally - Inter-governmental Organizations:The United Nations (UN)United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF)World Health Organization (WHO)World Food Program (WFP)UN Commission on the Status of Women (CSW)United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM)

STAKEHOLDERS – GOV’T

Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Bread for the WorldGlobal Alliance for Improved Nutrition (GAIN)Action Against Hunger (ACF International)Feed the FutureCARE International Children’s Hunger Alliance Doctor’s Without BordersAmerican FarmersAmerican EducatorsOther Relief/Aid Agencies

STAKEHOLDERS – NON GOV’T

“We have the resources to give every person in the world the tools they need to feed themselves and

their children. So the question is not whether we can end hunger. It's

whether we will.”

- Hillary Clinton, 2009 World Food Prize Announcement Ceremony

FOOD FOR THOUGHT…

https://www.wfp.org/our-work/preventing-hunger/focus-women/women-hunger-facts

http://notes.bread.org/2012/06/congressman-paynes-bill-to-improve-food-aid-moves-forward.html

http://www.bread.org/institute/papers/briefi ng-paper-15.pdfhttp://beta.congress.gov/bill/112th-congress/house-bill/

4141https://www.wfp.org/hunger/who-arehttp://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/misc/RS21279.pdf Improving the Nutritional Quality of U.S. Food Aid:

Recommendations for Changes to Products and Programs http://nutrition.tufts.edu/news/food-aid-quality-report

Delivering Improved Nutrition http://transition.usaid.gov/our_work/humanitarian_assistance/ffp/

deliveringimprovednutrition.pdf

REFERENCES