What we're doing to help end global hunger

Here in DC we’ve been working with a group of partner organizations for 18 months now to address the problem of world hunger. We’ve worked to get groups in DC behind a common vision that includes a comprehensive plan to orient U.S. government resources and concrete steps to ensure ongoing leadership in the Congress and the Obama Administration. We’ve gotten new legislation introduced in Congress, and we’ve been successful at increasing the level and effectiveness of U.S. financial commitments for ending global hunger.

This morning we all met again – this time with Ambassador Ertharin Cousin, the U.S. Ambassador to the Rome-based UN food agencies. Ambassador Cousin briefed us on the progress being made to bring greater efficiency to the United Nations, and to increase financial commitments and coordination of government and private sector donors all over the world.

For the first time, the U.S. Government has a fully operational coordinating committee on food security, which means that high-level staff from all the relevant agencies like the State Department, the National Security Council, the U.S. Agency for International Development, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the Commerce Department, and many more meet regularly to develop joint plans. And the U.S. commitment of $3.5 billion a year to the goal of ending global hunger shows just how serious our country is about addressing this global problem. With more than a billion people suffering every day from hunger, this new commitment is welcome.

What Ambassador Cousin told us this morning is fabulous news, and news I wanted to share with all Mercy Corps supporters. She said “When you hear us making bold statements about ending global hunger, it is in large part because of the hard work of you and all your supporters in the U.S. Because with that support we know that we can stand behind our promises and deliver results.”

This next year is going to bring many truly historic opportunities for us to contribute to and lead these ongoing efforts and I hope many Mercy Corps supporters will join us in this important mission!