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US Administration makes additional food relief available for Africa

Countries
Eritrea
+ 7 more
Sources
Govt. USA
Publication date

WASHINGTON, March 19, 2003 -- The Bush Administration today authorized additional food aid to meet the growing food needs of people in Africa.

Agriculture Secretary Ann M. Veneman and U.S. Agency for International Development Administrator Andrew S. Natsios announced immediate release of 200,000 metric tons of wheat from the Bill Emerson Humanitarian Trust for emergency food assistance in Africa, particularly Ethiopia and Eritrea. Food crises in the Horn of Africa and southern Africa threaten some 38 million people with starvation.

"The United Nations World Food Program has appealed for assistance, and once again we are responding," said Veneman. "The United States is the largest donor addressing the serious food shortages in the Horn and southern Africa. We are pleased that we can use the abundance from our nation's farms to assist hungry African people in this time of crisis."

"This latest commitment of food aid for Ethiopia and Eritrea once again demonstrates the compassion of the American people for those in need around the world," said Natsios. "We are pleased to be able to continue to help Ethiopia and Eritrea address this dire situation."

The World Food Program indicates that more than 11 million people in Ethiopia face acute hunger in coming months. Eritrea has suffered its worst crop failure in a decade. People in several other nations on the continent also face the consequences of drought, floods, conflict and economic decline.

Last year, in two separate actions, USDA allocated a total of 525,000 tons from the Emerson Trust to provide food to relieve suffering and avert famine in southern Africa.

The wheat will be shipped as emergency food relief under P.L. 480, Title II, a program administered by the U.S. Agency for International Development. It will be distributed mainly through private voluntary organizations and is expected to arrive in the recipient countries over the next few months.

The Emerson Trust is an emergency reserve administered under the authority of the Secretary of Agriculture. It is available for humanitarian relief in developing countries, allowing the United States to respond to unanticipated food crises. It is being tapped because U.S. food aid programs are fully allocated for this fiscal year. Use of the reserve will help ensure that sufficient commodities are available to respond to urgent needs in Africa without undercutting other U.S. food aid commitments. The reserve was reauthorized through 2007 by the 2002 Farm Bill.