Hunger Report 2001 Executive Summary

Bread for the World Institute
Hunger Reports

Foreign Aid to End Hunger
11th annual report on the state of world hunger

The United States could lead an international movement to reduce world hunger by half by 2015, a goal set at the 1996 World Food Summit. In partnership with developing countries, the United States and other industrial nations have the resources to make it happen.

U.S. aid has had many notable successes that can serve as models for working with developing countries. The Marshall Plan helped Europe and Japan rebuild after World War II. The Green Revolution doubled crop yields and cut hunger by more than half in Asia. The UNICEF Child Survival Initiative, partially funded by U.S. foreign aid, saves the lives of 4 million children a year through low-cost immunizations and oral rehydration therapy.

Foreign aid clearly works when it is well planned and funded. At least 25 countries that once received development aid have become self-sustaining. Some, like Japan, are wealthy enough to give aid to other nations.

Unfortunately, U.S. foreign aid has not always helped hungry people. Much U.S. aid in the Cold War era was for military or geopolitical purposes, propping up anti-communist governments (even dictatorial, corrupt, or incompetent ones) in the developing world. Relatively little U.S. aid has been targeted to development that could end hunger and poverty in the world's poorest countries.

Because of these past mistakes, some people in the United States are skeptical about the effectiveness of foreign aid. Nevertheless, a new poll released in this report indicates that 83 percent would favor a targeted program to reduce hunger in the developing world.

The poll also shows that most people think the U.S. gives 20 times more in foreign aid than it actually does. In fact, U.S. aid has declined steadily since the Cold War ended, to a fraction of 1 percent of the federal budget. Twenty-one other industrial nations devote a greater percentage of their national income to foreign assistance than the United States does.

Foreign Aid to End Hunger urges President George W. Bush and Congress to allocate an additional $1 billion a year in U.S. development aid for Africa, where hunger is deep, pervasive, and widespread.

Bread for the World Institute believes moral obligation is reason enough. But strengthening Africa's economies would open new markets for U.S. businesses and create a far more stable world, reducing the likelihood of costly U.S. military or humanitarian interventions.

The need is great. In sub-Saharan Africa, 291 million people (more than the entire U.S. population) live on less than $1 a day, and one person in three is chronically undernourished. In all, more than 186 million Africans are malnourished.

HIV/AIDS is causing widespread sickness and death. Two-thirds of the 23 million people living with HIV/AIDS worldwide are in sub-Saharan Africa. AIDS has orphaned 12 million African children.

Sub-Saharan Africa also contends with civil wars, low agricultural production, scarce health care, inadequate education, environmental degradation, poor roads, and lack of sanitation. Debt to foreign creditors and international financial institutions also causes immense suffering, siphoning funds that could be spent on desperately needed human services.

Despite these obstacles, Africa is showing signs of renewal. In many countries, democratic governments have replaced dictatorships. New businesses and private investment are growing. Women are gaining a role in economic and political life. African governments are fighting HIV/AIDS aggressively.

To build on these positive trends, Bread for the World Institute advocates a long-term U.S. aid partnership to reduce hunger and strengthen Africa's capacity to solve its own problems. Projects would be planned and run by Africans, with technical assistance from U.S. and international agricultural and business advisors. African governments would provide leadership, stability, and sound economic policies.

Based on Africa's documented needs and on lessons learned from successful development programs, Foreign Aid to End Hunger recommends that Africa use U.S. aid to:

1. Invest in agriculture, the surest way to end hunger in the long term.

Sub-Saharan Africa's food production has declined 23 percent in the past 25 years. But U.S. aid could fund agricultural research and extension services to help farmers improve crop yields. With new farming methods, African nations could grow more food for their own people and also earn income by exporting. The research institutes that made Asia's Green Revolution possible are now developing improved crop varieties and cultivation techniques for Africa. African farmers also need better access to land, capital, and livestock.

2. Build good roads and infrastructure.

Poor or nonexistent roads make it difficult to deliver food to hungry people. Farmers need roads to take their crops to market and to obtain fertilizer, tools, seeds, and other supplies. Food processing companies and other industries could open plants in rural areas, near the farmers, if communities had good roads, electric power, clean water, sanitation, and telecommunications.

3. Enroll more children in school and keep them there.

Sub-Saharan nations generally have low literacy rates, low school enrollment, and too few classrooms and teachers. But U.S. funds could help correct this and enable more girls to get an education.

4. Empower and educate African women.

This one step would have a profound effect on the way African families live. Women working small plots of land produce 70 percent of Africa's food. Yet women are often denied the right to own land, obtain farm loans, or start home-based businesses. Girls are frequently kept out of school, even though households run by educated women have more income, better nutrition, higher literacy, and lower birth rates.

5. Prevent and treat HIV/AIDS, malaria, tuberculosis, and other infectious diseases.

U.S. aid could help Africa in its fight against HIV/AIDS by strengthening primary health care, training more doctors, making medicine available, and promoting health education. Doctors are already scarce in Africa, and it is estimated that 25 percent of the region's physicians could die of AIDS in less than five years.

6. Foster the development of new African-owned businesses and microenterprises.

Small, home-based businesses can boost household income, teach people new skills, and enable families to keep children in school. U.S. aid could supply loans and technical training to help launch these enterprises.

7. Continue debt relief.

Reducing the foreign debt payments of the world's poorest nations, most of them in Africa, will free more money for needed social investments and development