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Picture Credit: World Food Programme Lack of Hunger Relief and Other Food Aid Challenges
There is enough food in the world for every person to lead a healthy and productive life, but hundreds of millions of people go to bed hungry every night, while large numbers of others suffer from obesity. The UN’s Millennium Development Goals set forth a target of halving the proportion of hungry people by the year 2015. Political leaders of virtually every country have endorsed this goal, but implementation is sorely lacking. This page posts articles on world hunger and the inadequacy of existing levels of government funding for international emergency hunger relief.
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World Hunger | International Aid
Documents | Articles and Reports Documents
The Food Aid Convention (1999)
In 1999, food aid donor countries adopted a renewed food aid convention to set minimum standards for international food aid. Among other things, the convention seeks to make “appropriate levels of food aid available on a predictable basis.”Defining the Right to Food in an Era of Globalization: Report of the Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food (March 2006)
Expressing grave concern with the continuing increase in global hunger and the current food crisis in Africa, this report insists the time has come to view hunger and famine “as a violation of the human right to food.” While national governments have the primary obligation to fulfill their citizens’ right to food, in an era where domestic actions affect people in other countries, governments must assume obligations beyond their own borders. Being more powerful than individual states, the World Bank, International Monetary Fund and World Trade Organization, as well as large transnational corporations must also take on due responsibility to fulfill this human right. (United Nations)Food Aid in the Context of International and Domestic Markets and the Doha Round (2005)
This publication by the Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) provides broad information about food aid. By looking at the diverse forms in which food aid is provided, FAO demonstrates that most such aid remains tied to donor countries’ interests. The report encourages organizations and governments to monitor and evaluate carefully food aid’s distorting effects in recipient countries.Articles and Reports
2008 | 2007 | 2006 | Archived Articles
Global Policy Forum’s Katarina Wahlberg warns that for the “first time in decades, worldwide scarcity of food is becoming a problem.” Increasing demand of cereals for food consumption, cattle feeding and in particular biofuel production, is driving food prices to record levels. Especially the poor, who spend a majority of their income on food, will suffer. To make matters worse, the food price hike is also affecting the amount of food aid available, as governments have not increased funding for the UN’s World Food Programme. (World Economy & Development in Brief)
This Global Policy Forum report critically reviews the global food aid system. Author Katarina Wahlberg argues that food aid donors fall short in prioritizing the needs of the poor and hungry. Instead, donor countries use food aid to promote their own national strategic and commercial interests. Such food aid not only fails to reduce hunger, it can also harm long-term food security in recipient countries.2008
Darfur Withers as Sudan Sells Food (August 10, 2008)
Sudan, a country that receives a billion pounds of food from international donors, is exporting its own crops and capitalizing on high global food prices. Sudan presents the classic case of a country that exports food while its people go hungry. Another famous case is British controlled Ireland during the potato famine in the mid-19th century. This article seems to favor government control of food markets, a position that the otherwise free-trade-oriented New York Times has opposed in other cases. Though clearly propagandistic against Sudan, the article poses broad questions about trade, food and government responsibilities.Food Aid Emergency (August 7, 2008)
The food aid system is fraught with problems rooted in the global economic system’s historical trends and vulnerabilities. The author advocates “untied” food aid, which allows humanitarian agencies to procure food in the “cheapest and most developmentally appropriate market.” However, the US, the world’s largest food aid donor, requires that 75 percent of its food aid is sourced in the US and shipped to the recipient country on US vessels. In addition, food aid donations are falling as the price of food raises the cost of providing aid. (Foreign Policy In Focus)Food Aid Reform: Buy Locally (June 9, 2008)
The US is the largest contributor of international food aid. But, under US law, at least 75 percent of its food aid must be processed and purchased in the US and shipped on US vessels. Finding a sustainable solution to the global food crisis requires that world leaders and international organizations shift towards locally procured food aid. Not only is locally purchased food cheaper and more efficient, it also supports local agricultural production and creates economic opportunities for small-scale farmers in recipient countries. (Partnership for a Secure America)UN Sets Up Food Crisis Task Force (April 29, 2008)
In the face of “widespread hunger, malnutrition and social unrest on an unprecedented scale,” the United Nations is setting up a task force. The task force, chaired by Secretary General Ban Ki-moon and made up of heads of UN agencies and the World Bank, aims to financially support farmers and assist countries with a food deficit in buying seeds. The World Bank pledges to double lending for agriculture in Africa and to provide quicker and more flexible financing to poor countries. It is not clear how, and if, this task force will address long-term threats to international food security such as the distorting EU agricultural subsidies or climate change. (BBC)A Perfect Storm of Hunger (April 1, 2008)
A “perfect storm” of causes – rising food and oil prices, poor harvests, the falling dollar and an increased demand for biofuels – dramatically increases the World Food Programme’s (WFP) operating costs. The WFP already struggles to feed the millions of people that rely on food aid. The new caseload of people no longer able to afford food will put additional strains on the WFP budget. These mostly urban populations in for instance Central America and Afghanistan cannot afford the nearly doubled prices for basic foodstuffs. (Los Angeles Times)World Food Program Issues “Emergency Appeal” for Funds (March 25, 2008)
The World Food Programme (WFP) is appealing to donor nations to help bridge its $500 - $650 million budget shortfall. This is the first time the WFP has had to launch an emergency appeal due to a market-generated crisis. Spiraling costs of food and fuel are impairing the organization’s work and it needs additional donations to continue to support the 73 million people that rely on it. A growing number of people can no longer afford to buy essential foodstuffs, which will likely deepen the funding crisis. (Los Angeles Times)High Food and Oil Prices Swelling Ranks of Hungry: WFP (March 6, 2008)
Due to a 40 percent price increase in the price of fuel and grain since mid-2007, the World Food Programme (WFP) has a $500 million budget shortfall. Josette Sheeran, head of the WFP, points to increases in oil and food commodity prices, the booming economies of China and India, bad harvests and droughts, and a shift to biofuels as the main causes of the budget deficit. She argues that governments must take swift action before the crisis leads to social unrest and malnutrition, pointing out that there have already been food riots in Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Senegal and Morocco. (Associated Press)Feeding the World? We Are Fighting a Losing Battle, UN Admits (February 26, 2008)
Global food prices have surged upwards, creating a “new face of hunger” in 2008. The World Food Programme (WFP) will not have enough funds to meet existing needs, let alone meet new demands arising because of the price hike. Joachim von Braun, head of the International Food Policy Research Institute points to rising incomes as the main cause of the food crisis. WFP officials identify two further causes of the crisis: climate change and the use of agricultural produce for biofuels instead of food. (Guardian)2007
As US Food Dollars Buy Less, International Agencies Differ Over How to Use Aid (October 2, 2007)
World food prices are soaring which means every dollar of the US food aid budget buys less food for distribution to poor countries. A coalition of NGOs is urging Congress to increase the food aid budget and use a larger part of it for long term development projects. The NGOs suggest that poor countries should have more of a say on how and where to spend food aid resources and this will help reduce the poor countries’ dependency on foreign aid in the future. USAID and the World Food Program oppose this suggestion, claiming such an arrangement would reduce their flexibility to respond to emergencies. (New York Times)Unrest in Myanmar Could Block Food Aid For 500,000 People, UN Food Agency Warns (September 28, 2007)
Following the weeks of unrest in Myanmar, the local government has restricted the movement of food and people, severely hampering the activities of the World Food Program in the country. This could mean that as many as 500,000 people who are dependent on the aid for survival find themselves without access to food . Over the next three years, the WFP aims to feed 1.6 million people in Myanmar, but in addition to facing logistical restrictions, the program is also suffering funding shortages and may have to cut back on its operations. (UN News)Who Does US Food Aid Benefit? (September 12, 2007)
NGOs and other critics are concerned that US food aid programs benefit the agribusiness and shipping industry more than the poor, as the US government requires its food aid to be grown, packaged and shipped from the US. In response to US requirements, CARE recently rejected a food aid package worth US$45 million. The food crops for aid are also heavily subsidized and sold to generate money for development projects, preventing any local competition from poor countries. However, purchasing locally grown food crops would benefit the economies of developing countries as well as ensure rapid food delivery in a crisis situation. (In These Times)Charity Finds that US Food Aid for Africa Hurts Instead of Helps (August 14, 2007)
CARE, a leading humanitarian organization, is refusing US$45 million a year of US food aid after determining that US food aid is not only inefficient but in some cases it also hurts the people it is trying to help. This inefficiency results from the US purchasing food from US farmers, paying US vessels to ship the food overseas, and then donating it to aid groups who sell the food in poor countries to raise money for development projects. CARE argues that this practice hurts local production and in many cases reduces the effects of its development work. Moreover, a CARE representative says, renouncing the money will allow the organization to “candidly address the flaws in the American strategy to combat world hunger.” (International Herald Tribune)How Biofuels Could Starve the Poor (April 24, 2007)
A surge in demand for alternative fuels such as ethanol has caused the price of corn to rise to its highest level in ten years. Because corn is a staple food for billions of impoverished people around the world, these price increases have “potentially devastating implications for both global poverty and food security,” argues this Foreign Affairs article. The authors further point out that “political and corporate interests” dominate the ethanol industry, so that corn growers in rich countries receive substantial government subsidies which diminish the competitiveness of their developing country counterparts.US Rethinks Foreign Food Aid (April 22, 2007)
Rather than purchasing food grown in the US and shipping it abroad, the Bush administration has proposed spending a quarter of the food aid budget on crops from poor countries geographically closer to hunger crises. Although this reform – already implemented by most other major food aid donors – would “speed delivery, improve efficiency and save many lives,” it faces opposition from the agribusiness and shipping industries which profit off the current policy. However, rising shipping costs have halved the amount of aid that reaches countries with food shortages, leading the US government “to rethink [its] approach to fighting world hunger.” (International Herald Tribune)Even as Africa Hungers, Policy Slows Delivery of US Food Aid (April 7, 2007)
Despite the “dire” shortage of food rations faced by the UN World Food Program (WFP), the US government refuses to change a law that requires most of its food donations be domestically grown and then shipped to recipient countries – an inefficient and costly process. International aid groups such as Oxfam estimate that amending this law to allow cash donations to the WFP could “feed at least a million more people” and “save 50,000 more lives.” (New York Times)Despite Bumper Grain Crop, 33 Countries in Food Crisis (April 3, 2007)
The UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) reports that Iraq and Lesotho top a list of 33 countries facing “widespread lack of access to food” and “exceptional shortfalls” in food production. Although the FAO predicts a 4.3 percent increase in world cereal production this year, approximately half of that will come from the production of grains like maize to meet the “surging demand for ethanol fuel” rather than being directed toward global food supplies. (Agence France Presse)Poor Infrastructure Undermines Food Safety in West Africa (March 11, 2007)
This Inter Press Service article reports that underdeveloped infrastructure is a leading cause of food insecurity in Africa. Meat imports frequently thaw in transit due to an unreliable supply of electricity and substandard technology, allowing food-borne illnesses like salmonella “to flourish.” NGOs and government officials therefore argue that improving domestic infrastructure is “the only way the poorest countries can cope” with international trade.Southern Africa Braces for Poor Harvests (March 8, 2007)
The World Food Programme (WFP) warns that “erratic weather patterns” in Africa may devastate agricultural output and lead to severe food shortages. The failure of donor countries to fully fund the WFP – which currently assists 4.3 million people in southern Africa alone – further threatens food security in the region.FAO Urges Food Aid Reform (January 24, 2007)
A new report published by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) found that governments spend one third of the global food aid budget on processing and shipping, thereby leaving less food aid for the intended beneficiaries. The FAO’s State of Food and Agriculture report calls for reform, recommending cash distributions and “assistance aimed at improving markets,” such as infrastructure development, as more effective alternatives to traditional food aid.2006
Funding Shortage Edges Millions of Southern Africans into Food Crisis (October 25, 2006)
Facing a US$60 million gap in funds, the United Nations World Food Programme has been forced to cut aid to 4.3 million people in southern African countries. The reductions will hit mother and child nutrition centres, school-feeding projects and food schemes for HIV/AIDS and tuberculosis patients, “for whom nutrition is key in boosting immunity to diseases that have ravaged the region.” Also food assistance provides a crucial “survival cushion” for many southern Africans while they finish schooling or learn new job skills.Drought in Africa: Ethiopia’s Bitter Harvest (October 24, 2006)
In fall 2006, the worst drought in a decade claimed the lives of five men in the 13 family Ethiopian village of Magado. Food aid prevented hunger-related deaths, but after watching 99 percent of their cattle die and their livelihoods destroyed, the men hanged themselves out of shame and despair. Despite early alarms of the coming drought, emergency aid only arrived “long after the cattle were beyond salvation.” According to Care International, the aid system regrettably tends to respond only “when an emergency is at its height,” disproportionately treating the symptoms of emergency hunger, rather than preventing its causes with a quicker response. (Independent)Undying Hunger in the Hinterland (August 14, 2006)
The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) has long provided rice in exchange for work or children’s school attendance in the “food deficit areas” of Nepal’s northwestern districts. But in 2006, the most severe drought on record has created exceptionally high food shortages. With children dying and people trying to survive on wild vegetables, WFP decided to provide emergency rice rations in ten districts. However, WFP has raised only 17 percent of the finances needed for the emergency operation. Unless governments provide more money, WFP will have to end the operation prematurely and leave many districts entirely to their own fate. (Inter Press Service)The Politics of Aid in Ethiopia (August 1, 2006)
This BBC article discusses the practice whereby governments of poor countries receive direct budget support from European governments. The big European donors have not given food aid to the Ethiopian central government since the political and social chaos caused by the 2005 election. Instead, they donate cash to regional authorities, showing disapproval of the central government without hurting the poor. The author suggests that this “test of how to manage the relationship when things go wrong” exemplifies how donor countries can continue aid allocation even when the larger parties cannot negotiate.Causing Hunger: An Overview of the Food Crisis in Africa (July 24, 2006)
This Oxfam report draws attention to hunger in Africa. The report describes the root causes of hunger and calls on governments and donors throughout the world to recognize and work with marginalized, rural groups.Africa Famine Response "Too Little, Too Late" – Oxfam (July 23, 2006)
This Reuters article warns of the increasing frequency of food shortage emergencies, worsened by conflict, AIDS, and climate change. Oxfam suggests that governments and aid agencies should address the root causes of these problems rather than deliver “start-stop” forms of help. Oxfam proposes that donor governments rethink their food aid policies to further build self-sufficiency within countries in crisis.Global Trends in Food Aid (June 6-8, 2006)
This report highlights how the complexity of each food insecurity situation prevents uniformity of food aid policy. Food supply agencies have different policies for developing, implementing, and following up on food programs. Using Sudan as a case example, the article shows how agencies can support the local economy by buying locally grown food and building up the local infrastructure system. (World Food Programme)UN Disaster Relief Fund Makes First Donations for Under-Resourced Emergencies (May 10, 2006)
The Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF), launched by the United Nations to respond quickly to humanitarian crises, redistributes a third of its money to chronically under-funded emergencies. Five months after its creation, CERF for the first time provided such funding to 11 African countries and Haiti. Of the targeted US$450 million, governments have only pledged US$254 millions to the Fund. Worse still, out of those pledged funds, donor countries have only come through on US$159 million. (UN News)A World Addicted to Hunger: Part 2 (May 3, 2006)
In this article, the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the World Food Programme (WFP) make clear that, thanks to highly developed early warning systems, rich governments can prevent most famines. However, donor countries seldom prioritize “preventability” and hesitate to give money until the press shows pictures of ongoing humanitarian crises. Inter Press Service also points out differencing opinions between the FAO and the WFP on the impact of direct food shipments to starving people.Malnutrition Kills 10 Children Every Minute (May 3, 2006)
A report released by the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) reveals that 146 million children worldwide suffer seriously from underweight, with 73% of them living in only 10 countries. In South Asia, almost every second child suffers from malnutrition – with 57 million living only in India. As China and most Latin American countries are “on track” to achieve the Millennium Goals related to children’s malnutrition, Africa and the Middle East show insufficient or no progress at all. Sad but true – in a world where 170 million children suffer of obesity, rich countries fail to provide enough aid to feed the world’s poor children. (Independent)Feeding a Hungry World: A Vision for Food Aid in the 21st Century (April 21, 2006)
This Bread for the World report analyzes and proposes means to improve the “efficiency” and “effectiveness” of food aid. Although food donation may relieve the world’s hungry, some countries give food based on their own domestic agricultural and trade interests, undermining local markets and development needs. The report calls for “moral and political leadership” to alleviate world hunger in a manner that better improves long-term food security.Kenya's Long Rains Too Late for Millions in Need of Aid (April 20, 2006)
The World Food Programme (WFP) draws attention to the continuing shortfall of funding needed to avoid mass-starvation in East Africa. After years of extreme drought, rainfalls came too late to provide relief for the food crisis. The WFP expects that 3.7 million people will depend on food aid until the beginning of 2007. In addition, muddy roads, which result from heavy rainfalls, obstruct food transportation to the most affected rural areas.Economist Pushes Insurance as Answer to Disasters (April 11, 2006)
According to Jeffrey Sachs, insurance covering natural disasters could give poor countries the chance to act immediately in case of emergency. The economist and UN advisor hopes the concept could also enable poor countries to gain independence from unpredictable and slowly deployed international aid. In March 2006, French AXA was the first company to issue insurance for an entire country, when agreeing to cover Ethiopia in case of droughts. (AlertNet)Bush's Fake Aid (March 10, 2006)
Four years after announcing an increase in US development aid to $5 billion, the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) has proved itself incapable of helping the world’s poor. Since its creation the MCC excluded experienced aid organizations and experts from its activities and promoted a neoliberal approach to development. In addition, the US government provided less than half of the funds it initially pledged to the organization. (Rolling Stone)World Warned It Must Do Better as 20m Face Threat of Famine in Africa (March 8, 2006)
Executive Director of the World Food Programme (WFP) James Morris describes the humanitarian situation on the Horn of Africa as the worst in his experience. The WPF needs urgent donations to avoid major food crises in Kenya, Somalia, Eritrea, Ethiopia and Tanzania. The article asks governments to give more money directly to multilateral aid institutions that buy food locally instead of providing bilateral government support or food exports. According to the Guardian, US$5.2 billion would be enough to allow the WFP to eliminate hunger for children in the whole of Africa.World’s First Humanitarian Insurance Policy Issued (March 6, 2006)
A small group of donor countries, including the US, contracted the private insurance company AXA to cover the risk of droughts in Ethiopia. In this pilot project developed by the World Food Programme (WFP) and the World Bank, an annual amount of US$930,000 would lead to immediate payments of US$7 million if rainfalls drop “significantly below historic averages.” However, neither the WFP nor AXA provide details regarding the deal. Furthermore, opening humanitarian aid activities to corporate interests is a “risky business.”Report Warns Malnutrition Begins in Cradle (March 3, 2006)
According to a World Bank report, malnutrition in the first two years of a child’s life causes irreversible damages on its future state of health. Many aid programs in poor countries provide meals to pre-school and school children and therefore only address children above the age of three. Educating mothers on how to feed their babies and improving sanitation and health care facilities could be important steps to eradicate child malnutrition in poor countries. (New York Times)New Fund Promises Enhanced Aid Response (February 14, 2006)
The United Nations Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) represents a new approach to humanitarian crises. It enables the emergency relief coordinator, responsible for the allocation of all aid, to take immediate action without the need to confirm available funding with donor governments. However, rich governments have only pledged US$185 million of a targeted US$500 million so far. (Integrated Regional Information Networks)Africa's Hunger - A Systemic Crisis (January 31, 2006)
This BBC article looks at the main factors causing Africa’s continuous struggle for agricultural self sufficiency. Decades of underinvestment in rural areas, hundreds of armed conflicts, HIV and high fertility rates turned Africa from a net food-exporter in the 50s into a continent dependent on foreign aid and food imports. Furthermore, many rich countries destroy local agricultural markets with subsidized food exports while abusing aid for their own corporate interests.UN Seeks $240 Mln of Food Aid for West Africa (January 16, 2006)
The World Food Program (WFP) calls attention to the shortfall of aid money which could cost the lives of millions in Africa’s Sahel region. Governments and private donors have provided US$18.4 million so far, but around US$237 million is required only for 2006. Also, food crises in other parts of the continent divert donors' attention from this continuously crisis-shaken region. (Reuters)Millions in Africa Starving (January 7, 2006)
On the Horn of Africa about 11 million people “are on the brink of starvation” due to extreme droughts and ongoing political conflicts. The situation in parts of Djibouti, Ethiopia, Kenya and Somalia is highly critical. In Somalia, governments have only donated about 25% of the 58,000 tons of food aid needed to avoid a humanitarian catastrophe. The World Food Program had to halve food rations to Angolan and Congolese refugees in Zambia in order to respond to the urgent needs of the people. (Toronto Star)Fixing the Humanitarian Aid System (January 2006)
This article likens the international emergency relief system to a “lottery” where media coverage decides which countries receive aid. Furthermore, donor governments’ tie their decreasing contributions to their economic and political interests. Africa Renewal calls for a more predictable and fair distribution of aid funds and urges governments to support initiatives like the United Nation’s Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF). In addition, the article clarifies the controversy between food-shipments and locally bought food.Archived Articles
