One - A Comprehensive Approach to Fighting Global Hunger and Malnutrition

“The United States has always stood for big ideas,” explained Senator Richard Lugar (R-IN) to colleagues on the floor of the Senate when he introduced the Global Food Security Act of 2009. “From the founding of the Republic on the basis of freedom to President Kennedy’s vow to put a man on the moon,” he continued, “one of today’s big ideas should be the eradication of hunger.”

To achieve lasting progress against hunger and malnutrition, U.S. assistance must target the right places and reach the right people. All countries with exceptionally high rates of hunger and malnutrition are agriculture-based economies; agriculture and rural areas are where development must begin. The objective of Feed the Future is not to help the 20 countries become self-sufficient food producers, but rather to attack hunger by reducing poverty. That starts in the agricultural sector.

The foods consumed by poor people are predominantly staple grains like rice, sorghum, and maize. These are cheap and can fill the stomach to quell hunger pains. But people, especially children, need more than cereals to live a healthy life. Good health depends on dietary diversity—adding protein from animal products, groundnuts, and legumes as well as the vitamins and minerals in fruits and vegetables.

In some countries, women lack the right to own land, are regarded legally as minors, and cannot get a bank loan without the approval of a male relative. If a woman’s husband dies, she could lose all the assets she’s accumulated during the marriage. To continue farming the land she and her husband held, and to feed her children, she may have to marry one of her husband’s male relatives.

Before the advent of Medicare and Social Security in the United States, seniors, the primary beneficiaries of these programs, had the highest poverty rates of any demographic group in the country. Since the establishment of these and other safety net programs, such as nutrition assistance, seniors consistently enjoy the lowest poverty rate of the three main demographic groups (seniors, adults, and children).

Almost immediately after an earthquake hit Haiti on January 12, 2010, it was clear this was a humanitarian disaster on a breathtaking scale. An estimated 230,000 people were killed and the capital city of Port-au-Prince, close to the epicenter, was almost completely destroyed. The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies described the earthquake as “the biggest natural disaster in history.”

In Africa, there are more than 17 million pastoralists, who earn their livelihood primarily on livestock. Pastoralist communities in Africa today are rapidly growing populations. They inhabit areas where the potential for crop cultivation is limited due to lack of rainfall, steep terrain or extreme temperatures. They are nomadic or semi-nomadic to take advantage of seasonal resources to provide food and water for themselves and their animals.

Developing countries struggle because of weak health systems and poor infrastructure, and it’s extremely difficult to reach the most vulnerable segments of their population—women and children. Most global health funding in recent years has been disease-focused, with the bulk of the resources going to fight HIV/AIDS. These have helped prevent and treat diseases but have not addressed some of the cross cutting issues that result in poor health and nutrition outcomes, or worse, insufficient progress in reducing maternal and child mortality.