World Food Day, observed Sunday, October 16, takes on special significance this year. Over recent months, CARE and our partners have assisted nearly half of the 2.7 million people in Niger who have faced life-threatening food shortages as a result of severe locust infestation and drought. And we are all too aware that a staggering 35 million more people could go hungry in Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Lesotho, Malawi, Mali, Mozambique, Somalia, South Africa, Sudan, Zambia and Zimbabwe before April if the international community does not respond.
Currently, CARE is on the ground in many countries distributing emergency food aid. But we know short-term help is not enough. The contributing factors to large-scale food shortages are complex and interrelated. They include prolonged drought, AIDS and poor governance, but all of the food crises are underpinned by chronic, extreme poverty. In an effort to break the cycle of poverty that keeps communities vulnerable, CARE helps families produce more food while preserving the environment for future generations. We work with farmers to increase their crop and livestock yields through activities such as planting new seed varieties, animal husbandry, home gardening and irrigation.
We understand that addressing underlying causes of poverty is the best way to achieve food security for poor communities. For example, CARE has fostered small groups of women in Niger who save money and award loans to one another. Since 1991, 225,000 women have participated in these groups, generating about $5 million. Many members this year have been able to buffer themselves and their families against hunger by drawing from the money and food they have saved. Programs like this one, which help hard-working people become more self-sufficient, build greater community resilience and will strengthen food security in developing countries.
On Sunday, more than 840 million people around the world will go to bed hungry. At CARE, we believe this is unacceptable. Join me this World Food Day in committing ourselves anew to the Millennium Development Goal of halving by 2015 the proportion of people who do not have sufficient food. With the combined efforts of aid agencies like CARE, committed governments and mobilized citizens around the world, we can end hunger. For each man, woman and child uncertain of their next meal, let's make this goal a reality.
Peter D. Bell, President of CARE USA
