Times may be tough for the US, but we have seen tougher. The struggle to fight global hunger need not be relegated to the backburner.
In 1948 when Dwight Eisenhower made a speech about fighting child hunger, he invoked the great resilience of America in overcoming challenges. He used the example of June 1944 just after the allied landings of D-Day that started the invasion of Nazi-occupied Europe. A massive storm struck the coast, and the destruction it caused could have severely harmed the Allied forces. But even greater than the storm was the resolve of America and its allies in overcoming obstacles.
Today, both Congress and President Obama should show stronger support for fighting global hunger, which means increased funding for the US Food for Peace and McGovern-Dole programs.
Right now these global hunger-fighting programs are in serious jeopardy of more budget cuts.
The World Food Program USA reports, "Despite this increasing need, national budget cuts have decreased the funding for Title II, the main legislation for food assistance in the Food for Peace program. The reduction from $1.84 billion to $1.46 billion since 2010 can negatively impact vulnerable populations in a variety of ways, making each recurring crisis deeper and more costly to address."
Thousands of people in Afghanistan, South Sudan, Yemen, East Africa, the Sahel region of Africa, and many other areas are suffering from severe hunger and malnutrition. Food for Peace and McGovern-Dole donations make a huge difference for these crisis points. But if not enough resources are provided to these hunger-fighting initiatives, then hunger can live to fight another day.
The US has to increase its Food for Peace arsenal. If America has enough resolve to battle world hunger, we can take the greatest step toward world peace there is.
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