From our backyard to yours: saving vulnerable lives through nutritious food aid

1. From our backyard to yours:saving vulnerable lives through nutritious food aid Titilope Akinlose November 29, 2012 HPA 430

2. Spotlight: Tohomina • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1E99JKvwDjs

3. FIRST, SOME general FACTS • 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.

4. The focus on women and children • 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..

5. Our role? • 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 aid • donors compiled by the International Grains Council (IGC) • contributions to the United Nations World Food Program (WFP), • 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.

6. The issue • 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

7. Why is this an 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.

8. THE BENEFITS • The benefits to improving nutrition of US food aid and agricultural training: • Healthy women means healthy children • Healthy children provide a promising future for developing countries • 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-effective and powerful ways to help families climb out of poverty and build self-sufficiency – and to help countries create long-term economic growth.

9. Policy aspect • 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. • He introduced the act this year • The Act was renamed: • Donald M. Payne International Food Assistance Improvement Act of 2012. Donald M. Payne US Rep for New Jersey’s 10th Congressional District

10. Amendment • 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 fiscal year 2012 and subsequent fiscal 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, fortified, and other nutrition-dense products included in the food aid commodities list,with a focus on the cost-effective 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.

11. Policy paramours Donald Payne Jr. US Rep for New Jersey’s 10th Congressional District, (D) • Barbara Boxer • California 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."

12. Policy paramours • Kristi Noem • US 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 • Barbara Lee • US Rep for California’s 9thCongressional District, (D) • Co-sponsor of Act

13. Policy paramours • Ben Cardin • Maryland 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)

14. Stakeholders – Gov’t • 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)

15. STAKEHOLDERS – NON Gov’t • Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation • Bread for the World • Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition (GAIN) • Action Against Hunger (ACF International) • Feed the Future • CARE International • Children’s Hunger Alliance • Doctor’s Without Borders • American Farmers • American Educators • Other Relief/Aid Agencies

16. Food for thought… “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

17. References • 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/briefing-paper-15.pdf • http://beta.congress.gov/bill/112th-congress/house-bill/4141 • https://www.wfp.org/hunger/who-are • http://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