BLOCK: Feed the hungry

OPINION:

OP-ED:

As a former secretary of the Agriculture Department, I have seen the remarkable contributions that Congress and the executive branch have made when it comes to addressing global hunger and feeding millions of hungry people across the world.

Our nation has a proud history of providing food and other humanitarian assistance to those in need during times of war and natural disasters. Federal agencies -such as the Department of Agriculture, the Department of State and the U.S. Agency for International Development - develop and implement dozens of life-saving programs that address short- and long-term hunger needs in many of the world’s poorest countries. These efforts are shining examples of American goodwill and generosity.

For example, the U.S. government has consistently supported initiatives such as school meals, HIV/AIDS and nutrition programs, emergency relief operations and several programs that help boost agricultural production in poor countries. These efforts address child hunger, provide assistance with the treatment of HIV/AIDS and ensure that life-saving nutritional support is delivered to crisis victims. With the help of these U.S. programs, many have been able to break free from the vicious cycle of poverty and hunger.

Despite a record of continued leadership, the U.S. government’s food assistance strategy could be much more effective with better coordination among the numerous offices and agencies charged with implementing hunger alleviation programs. Hunger is a complex problem. It demands an integrated and strategic response that not only provides short-term relief, but also offers a permanent solution. The United States has the ability to meet this demand by developing a comprehensive, global, food security strategy that ties together all of the government’s efforts to address hunger.

As the global food crisis has drawn attention to the problem of hunger across the developing world this year, the Government Accountability Office, the Center for Strategic and International Studies and others have called for greater coordination of U.S. hunger alleviation programs and a comprehensive strategy. Friends of the World Food Program has partnered with a diverse coalition of organizations over the past several months to develop a “roadmap” that outlines the key elements of a comprehensive strategy to address hunger in the short, intermediate and long term.

Although the roadmap will not be released until early next year, the efforts of this coalition and other like-minded organizations have already resulted in several congressional initiatives, including the introduction of the Global Food Security Act of 2008 by Sens. Richard Lugar (Indiana Republican) and Robert Casey Jr. (Pennsylvania Democrat). This bipartisan legislation takes important steps toward strengthening the U.S. response to the global food crisis and world hunger by establishing a White House position - the special coordinator for global food security. This position would foster a comprehensive food security strategy to address urgent global hunger needs and advise President-elect Barack Obama on hunger developments.

In the House, a bipartisan group, led by Reps. Jim McGovern (Massachusetts Democrat) and Jo Ann Emerson (Missouri Republican), is also calling for the appointment of a senior White House official to coordinate U.S. hunger programs. Soon after the election, the group sent a letter to Mr. Obama, asking him to “designate a … White House position to design, implement and oversee a government-wide strategy to address global hunger and food security.” If legislation like the Global Food Security Act is passed by the 111th Congress, the United States will lead the way to providing permanent relief to the nearly 1 billion people who are forced to endure hunger every day. My hope is that other nations will follow, and, together, we can make hunger a thing of the past.

Now is the time to act.

Global hunger represents one of the world’s most significant challenges today. More deadly than HIV/AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis combined, hunger kills 25,000 people every day. The crisis has ravaged the economies of developing countries, fueled rioting and instability in almost 30 countries, and pushed millions of people further into poverty.

The consequences of the global food crisis, dubbed the “silent tsunami,” along with a destructive series of recurring natural disasters and man-made conflicts, include a greater demand for food than the world has ever seen before.

I commend Messrs. Lugar, Casey and McGovern and Congresswoman Emerson for their leadership on this critical and timely issue. Their efforts are laying a solid foundation for a long-term, comprehensive strategy that will tackle hunger with a permanent solution, and I look forward to seeing this vision become a reality.

John Block, who served as Agriculture secretary under President Reagan, is a member of the Friends of the World Food Program’s Board of Directors.