U.S. international food assistance report 1999

During FY 1999, record surpluses in some U.S. commodities and increased need worldwide led to a substantial increase in total U.S. food assistance, which is implemented by USAID and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) through P.L. 480 and related statutes. This report provides an overview of these FY 1999 efforts. Chapter I focuses on the more than 800 million people today who are chronically undernourished, including over 180 million underweight children. It analyzes the growing need for food aid resources in the face of limited global availability and the rising requirements for emergency food aid. The growing mismatch between food aid supply and demand emphasizes the need for more focused geographical targeting of food assistance and the directed use of food aid in programs aimed at sustainable development and the alleviation of food insecurity. Chapter II reviews the programs and activities through which the U.S. Government provides food assistance in emergencies and helps food-insecure populations reach the point where they can feed themselves. Country-specific examples illustrate strategies. The U.S. Action Plan for Food Security, the U.S. follow-up to the World Food Summit, coordination with other donors, and related initiatives are also discussed. Chapter III provides an overview of the U.S. FY 1999 international food aid program in terms of resources allocated to each program component, as illustrated by graphs and figures. Chapter IV reports on improvements in food aid management by USAID and USDA, as well as progress made on Title II program performance indicators that demonstrate people-level impact and improvements in technical capacity for managing and implementing food assistance programs. These are achieved through the efforts of USAID"s Bureau of Humanitarian Response/Office of Food for Peace, USAID Missions, and cooperating sponsors. Improvements in program design and documentation through compliance with USAID"s environmental Regulation 216, improved management of commodity monetization, increased nutritional benefit to food aid recipients through Vitamin A fortification of vegetable oil, and two recent impact evaluations in food-deficient countries are also discussed. Lastly, the impressive accomplishment of the NGO-initiated Sphere project is highlighted. Chapter V offers a brief overview of the direct and indirect ways Americans benefit from food assistance programs. This includes both the spending to purchase, process, package and transport food assistance commodities and the increased trade that comes from the economic development that non-emergency food assistance supports. (Author abstract, modified)