Global Hunger Programs are Too Important to Cut!

By Nyaka Mwanza Published on February 25, 2013

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Tell congress that global hunger and malnutrition programs matter!

Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), the Chairwoman of the Senate Budget Committee, has launched an online platform for citizens like you to weigh in as our nation works to tackle our budget and economic challenges. Make your voice heard! Join us in telling the Senate Budget Committee that programs working to solve global hunger and malnutrition matter to you.

Why?

Funding for global hunger programs makes up less than one tenth of one percent of the overall U.S. budget. These programs make a big impact for the world’s most vulnerable people while barely making a dent in the federal budget.

Addressing hunger and malnutrition is a smart investment. Nutrition investments could save one million lives per year and improve the health of 360 million children and their mothers. Learn more in the Roadmap for Continued U.S. Leadership to End Global Hunger.
Cutting funding for emergency food relief programs has real impacts. When faced with budget cuts, humanitarian organizations like the UN World Food Program (WFP) must prioritize life-saving interventions and reduce investments in long-term recovery efforts—like school feeding. This reduces communities’ abilities to withstand future disaster, making each new crisis deeper and more costly to address. Learn more about the impacts of cutting funding for emergency relief programs.

Global hunger programs are effective. In 2012, famine was prevented in the Sahel region of West Africa as a result of innovative global hunger and nutrition programs. Millions of lives were saved thanks to the contributions of the international community, including the U.S. government and WFP USA donors.

Find out more about how a humanitarian catastrophe was averted in the Sahel.
WFP is reaching almost 100 million people a year in over 75 countries and is completely funded by voluntary donations. Check out this infographic to see how WFP is working around the world to solve hunger.

Programs aimed at solving global hunger and malnutrition are more critical than ever. With an increase in natural disasters and the continued threat of conflict and economic crises, we must keep up the momentum in the fight against hunger and malnutrition.

Nearly 870 million people around the world go hungry every night.
Natural disasters have quadrupled over the past 20 years.
The number of people displaced as a result of civil conflict has risen from 17.4 million to 27.5 million since 1997.
An estimated 75 million people will need urgent, humanitarian assistance in 2013.

Your voice counts! Tell the Senate Budget Committee that programs working to solve global hunger and malnutrition matter to you.