World Food Day was October 16.
There are some numbers that we are all too familiar with that make ending hunger seem daunting.
- 842 million people suffer from chronic hunger worldwide.
- One in six children in the developing world are underweight.
- One in four children in the developing world are stunted.
But what about those other numbers? What about the numbers that show how much we can do and are doing every day to make sure that people have enough to eat? USAID food assistance programs feed people in emergency contexts and engage in longer-term development activities so that one day we can live in a world where no one needs food assistance.
Beneficiaries of food distribution in Bangladesh. Photo credit: Save the Children
So, in remembering World Food Day 2013, let’s look at some of those numbers:
- 52 Million
People who benefited from USAID food assistance programs in FY 2012
Learn more about our FY 2012 programming here.
- 59
Years that USAID’s Office of Food for Peace has been providing food assistance to hungry people around the world
- 3 Billion
People who have benefited from USAID food assistance programs since they began in 1954
- 150
Countries where USAID food assistance programs have operated
- 1.5 Million
Tons of food that were distributed to hungry people around the world in FY 2012
- 36
Countries where USAID-funded Famine Early Warning Systems Network (FEWS NET) monitors and analyzes relevant data and information in terms of its impacts on livelihoods and markets to identify potential threats to food security.
- 10.7 Million
People who benefited from new tools USAID has to provide emergency food assistance in FY 2012, including locally and regionally purchased food, as well as cash transfers and food vouchers hungry people can use to buy food in local markets.
Click here to see how cash transfers are helping food insecure internally displaced persons in Somalia.
- 6
New ready-to-use and emergency food products that USAID has developed since 2011 to better target the special nutritional needs of vulnerable groups.
Click here to see how we are partnering with the UN World Food Program to transport life-sustaining food bars purchased in the U.S. to Syrian refugees in Erbil, Iraq.
So remembering World Food Day, and those 842 million people who are still hungry, let us also remember the United States’ sustained commitment to improving conditions globally for hungry people. Let us remember the millions of people around the world who have benefited from the generosity and good will of the American people. And let us recommit to reaching those who still need our help because in 2013, no one should struggle to feed their children or go to bed hungry.
Learn more about how USAID is working to reduce hunger and malnutrition through Food for Peace.
