USAID annual food assistance report 1996

These grants supported over 100 activities for development and relief purposes in 49 countries. Five grants were made directly to governments; other grants supported 21 PVOs and NGOs in 27 countries; and a contribution to the World Food Program (WFP) supported activities in 35 countries. These activities were carried out under Titles II and III of U.S. Public Law (P.L.) 480, the Agricultural Trade Development and Assistance Act of 1954, which was amended and reauthorized in 1996. These activities take on special importance in the context of the World Food Summit (WFS), which, sponsored by the Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) of the United Nations, will take place in Rome, Italy on November 13-17, 1996. The Summit will provide an opportunity to see the U.S. food aid program in the broader context of U.S. food security policy and the commitments of world leaders to the food security of the world"s people into the third millennium. Chapter 1, "The Problem of World Hunger and Food Insecurity," presents key portions from "The U.S. Contribution to World Food Security: The U.S. Position Paper Prepared for the World Food Summit," a joint effort of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), the U.S. Department of State, and USAID. The chapter discusses the scope of world hunger and food insecurity and the outlook for food security around the world. In Chapter II, "Responding to the Challenge to Improve Food Security," U.S. Government and USAID policy are described and the progress being made in administering the USAID food program is outlined. The chapter details the U.S. Government commitments to food security that will be made at the Summit. The chapter goes on to describe the trends in Title II and Title III resources and the specific improvements in legislation and management made over the past year such as better planning and results measurement and expanded technical assistance to USAID partners. In Chapter III, "Monitoring Program Performance," this year"s report continues the practice, established in past annual World Food Day reports, of presenting updated progress profiles for ongoing Title II and Title III P.L. 480 food assistance programs that are supported by USAID. This report also contains a budget annex which provides specific data on food aid by title, country, commodity, tonnage, and value, including such information on food aid programs managed by USDA (Title I, Food for Progress, and Section 416(b)). (Author abstract)