The World Is Still Hungry
Susan notes: I have sponsored a young girl in Senegal for the
last three years through Plan Canada . This letter from Rosemary McCarney, CEO, of Plan Canada about world hunger struck a chord with me, especially after my visit to Malaysia where food plays such a central role in society. Find more information about Plan International here.
Dear Plan Supporter:
Summer is on its way and in many parts of Canada we’re welcoming the reappearance of local fruits and vegetables at our farmer’s markets. Some of us are worrying about frost, watching for the right moment to plant the backyard or community garden plot or to put a pot of fresh herbs on the balcony. By world standards, relatively few Canadians are worrying that we won’t have food for our families.
The situation is vastly different where Plan works. Last summer, Plan wrote a position paper on the growing global food crisis called “The World is Hungry.” We described a world suffering from an unprecedented crisis that threatened the survival of over 850 million people living in the poorer countries of the globe. We outlined the factors driving it – global distortions in food markets, severe under-investment in agriculture, food diverted for other uses like biofuel, increased energy prices and a changing climate. We proposed a twelve-point plan to address the situation.
Dear Plan Supporter:
Summer is on its way and in many parts of Canada we’re welcoming the reappearance of local fruits and vegetables at our farmer’s markets. Some of us are worrying about frost, watching for the right moment to plant the backyard or community garden plot or to put a pot of fresh herbs on the balcony. By world standards, relatively few Canadians are worrying that we won’t have food for our families.
The situation is vastly different where Plan works. Last summer, Plan wrote a position paper on the growing global food crisis called “The World is Hungry.” We described a world suffering from an unprecedented crisis that threatened the survival of over 850 million people living in the poorer countries of the globe. We outlined the factors driving it – global distortions in food markets, severe under-investment in agriculture, food diverted for other uses like biofuel, increased energy prices and a changing climate. We proposed a twelve-point plan to address the situation.
Almost a year later, energy prices have dropped and media attention has shifted to the collapse of banks and auto manufacturers. But the world is still hungry. A few weeks ago, the United Nations officially raised its estimate of the number of people now going hungry to one billion – that’s one in six people on the planet who will go to bed tonight hungry. None of us should tolerate this. It is entirely within our means to end hunger.
Earlier this month, I was one of five leaders of Canadian international development organizations invited to meet Josette Sheeran, executive director of the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP). Her purpose in visiting Canada was two-fold. First, to thank Canadians for the enormous contributions our country has made to ending global hunger. She underscored Canada’s many “firsts”: first country to give sustained funding to WFP over a number of years, first to improve WFP’s ability to get quick assistance to vulnerable people by donating cash instead of surplus wheat, first to “untie” the donation from any requirement to spend it in Canada.
As a country, we’re the fourth-largest donor to WFP, and we’ve structured our donation for maximum flexibility and speed in getting help to where it’s most needed. Where it’s possible to do so, WFP buys surplus from farmers in or near countries suffering from famine for local distribution. That’s both cost-efficient and has the double impact of supporting the expansion of local production. Because these farmers don’t yet produce enough, the organization continues to purchase wheat and other staples from countries like Canada.
Josette’s second message was a plea for help: the world’s hungry people need Canada more than ever. The right to food is fundamental, and when people are denied that right they have three choices: revolt, emigrate or die. The last is clearly unacceptable. Emigration on a massive scale causes social disruption and a host of problems. Revolt further destabilizes an already unstable world. I was surprised to learn that in a short period following the 1974 oil shock and food crisis, the governments of 89 countries in Africa fell. Those countries are still bearing the cost of this instability. In today’s increasingly interdependent global economy, it’s hard to imagine what kind of shock waves that could send around the world.
Most Canadians, if they think about food aid at all, picture bags of grain being thrown off the back of a truck. That’s still happening, but we now have the capability to be much more sophisticated in our approach. We can customize the provision of food aid such that it delivers the greatest possible benefit to the recipient. Think, for example, of what might go in a cup provided to a pregnant mother – lots of Vitamin A, which costs pennies, to prevent her child from being stunted. That’s different from what would go in the cup of an adolescent boy, or someone who is HIV-positive. With sufficient and sustained funding, this is possible.
While food aid is critical to reduce immediate suffering, it’s not sufficient. WFP and Plan have launched many innovative programs to support long-term food security in parts of the world whose climate and economy make them most vulnerable to famine. Programs like a pilot in Cameroon that lends food to subsistence farmers in lean times that they pay back in food (plus in-kind interest) when the crops come in. Like a micro-finance program that deals in produce rather than cash, programs such as this can help farmers invest in and expand production.
Plan’s proposals to address world hunger include changes in agricultural trade policies to create a level playing field for farmers from both developing and developed countries, reconsideration of policies that encourage the diversion of food crops to fuel production, increased investment in the agricultural sector as well as in food and income security programming. We have pledged to invest $750 million over five years in reducing the immediate and long-term impact of the food crisis on communities – especially the children and women who are always hardest hit. The need is growing. My hope is that all Canadians will hear and respond for the plea to do more.
Rosemary McCarney, CEO, Plan Canada
Thank-you Canada - from the World Food Programme…
Earlier this month, I was one of five leaders of Canadian international development organizations invited to meet Josette Sheeran, executive director of the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP). Her purpose in visiting Canada was two-fold. First, to thank Canadians for the enormous contributions our country has made to ending global hunger. She underscored Canada’s many “firsts”: first country to give sustained funding to WFP over a number of years, first to improve WFP’s ability to get quick assistance to vulnerable people by donating cash instead of surplus wheat, first to “untie” the donation from any requirement to spend it in Canada.
As a country, we’re the fourth-largest donor to WFP, and we’ve structured our donation for maximum flexibility and speed in getting help to where it’s most needed. Where it’s possible to do so, WFP buys surplus from farmers in or near countries suffering from famine for local distribution. That’s both cost-efficient and has the double impact of supporting the expansion of local production. Because these farmers don’t yet produce enough, the organization continues to purchase wheat and other staples from countries like Canada.
…And a plea for help
Josette’s second message was a plea for help: the world’s hungry people need Canada more than ever. The right to food is fundamental, and when people are denied that right they have three choices: revolt, emigrate or die. The last is clearly unacceptable. Emigration on a massive scale causes social disruption and a host of problems. Revolt further destabilizes an already unstable world. I was surprised to learn that in a short period following the 1974 oil shock and food crisis, the governments of 89 countries in Africa fell. Those countries are still bearing the cost of this instability. In today’s increasingly interdependent global economy, it’s hard to imagine what kind of shock waves that could send around the world.
Most Canadians, if they think about food aid at all, picture bags of grain being thrown off the back of a truck. That’s still happening, but we now have the capability to be much more sophisticated in our approach. We can customize the provision of food aid such that it delivers the greatest possible benefit to the recipient. Think, for example, of what might go in a cup provided to a pregnant mother – lots of Vitamin A, which costs pennies, to prevent her child from being stunted. That’s different from what would go in the cup of an adolescent boy, or someone who is HIV-positive. With sufficient and sustained funding, this is possible.
While food aid is critical to reduce immediate suffering, it’s not sufficient. WFP and Plan have launched many innovative programs to support long-term food security in parts of the world whose climate and economy make them most vulnerable to famine. Programs like a pilot in Cameroon that lends food to subsistence farmers in lean times that they pay back in food (plus in-kind interest) when the crops come in. Like a micro-finance program that deals in produce rather than cash, programs such as this can help farmers invest in and expand production.
Plan in action on the global food crisis – Join the cause!
Plan’s proposals to address world hunger include changes in agricultural trade policies to create a level playing field for farmers from both developing and developed countries, reconsideration of policies that encourage the diversion of food crops to fuel production, increased investment in the agricultural sector as well as in food and income security programming. We have pledged to invest $750 million over five years in reducing the immediate and long-term impact of the food crisis on communities – especially the children and women who are always hardest hit. The need is growing. My hope is that all Canadians will hear and respond for the plea to do more.
Rosemary McCarney, CEO, Plan Canada