Despite Increasing Financial Assistance, Global Food Insecurity Growing

WASHINGTON, DC – From 2014 through 2018, the U.S. and other donors spent an estimated $75 billion on global food security assistance. This included, for example, supplying seeds and fertilizer, providing food to crisis-affected people, addressing nutrient deficiencies, and providing school meals. The U.S., the largest country donor, accounted for more than $22 billion of this total. About 82 percent ($62 billion) was funded by individual countries (including the U.S.) and the remaining 18 percent ($13 billion) came from international organizations and other multilateral donors. The U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) estimates that annual global funding for food security assistance increased from more than $13 billion to more than $16 billion.

As the largest bilateral donor of this assistance, the United States used various programs and methods to administer its assistance. These programs primarily support both emergency and nonemergency food assistance, which are delivered as either in-kind food or cash-based assistance. While the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) administers most of this assistance, other U.S. agencies also conduct global food security activities, including support for agriculture and nutrition, as well as water and sanitation.

In 2020, the United Nations (UN) reported that nearly 690 million people in the world were undernourished. According to this reporting, the number of undernourished people has increased over the last six years. Further, the Coronavirus Disease pandemic is expected to worsen food insecurity levels around the world. The UN projects that at least 80 million people could become undernourished in 2020 as a result of the pandemic.
(SOURCE: All Ag News)