One in every six individuals worldwide, amounting to 805,000,000 people, currently suffer from chronic hunger, with the US Bureau of Global Public Affairs projecting that the global demand for food is expected to double by 2035 (US Bureau of Global Public Affairs 2018). The devastating long-term effects of chronic hunger and under-nutrition include the stunting of child growth and weakening of the immune system, which in many cases can result in death. The ever-growing global population, stagnation in agricultural production, looming threat of climate change and increasing competition for scarce resources (such as water and grains) will only continue to exacerbate food insecurity, especially in impoverished areas and developing nations. People living below the poverty line and minorities are notably more likely to experience food insecurity in their lifetimes, with the current highest concentration of hunger in communities in the Middle East, Central Asia, and Africa (US Bureau of Global Public Affairs 2018). Lack of food for these populations will make overall global sustainable economic development much more difficult to achieve. Given the severe impact of this issue, there have been many initiatives proposed in Congress to address food insecurity both domestically within the U.S. and internationally. In particular, this paper will analyze the development, implementation, and tangible impact of the Global Food Authorization Act, initially signed into law in 2016 and most recently reauthorized in 2022.
The Global Food Security Act (GFSA) was first introduced in the 114th Congress House of Representatives by Representative Christopher Henry Smith (R-NJ) and in the Senate by Senator Robert P. Casey, Jr (D-PA). The idea for the proposal was based on the success of the Feed the Future initiative, which launched in 2010 as “the U.S. Government’s response to the sharply rising global food prices, food insecurity and resulting turmoil in 2007-08” (Barnhart 2020). Due to the remarkable success in the program’s first four years of implementation, especially in its successful response to the 2011 crisis of drought and famine in the Horn of Africa and the 2014 outbreak of Ebola in West Africa, many Congressional leaders desired to solidify its legislative authorization via the GFSA (Barnhart 2020). In particular, the legislation strengthened the existing measures of accountability of the Feed the Future initiative and “established parameters for robust Congressional oversight, monitoring and evaluation of impact towards this commitment” (US Agency for International Development 2019). Since the Feed the Future initiative was initially created under Executive Authority under the directive of the US Department of State, its legitimacy through legislation allowed for further improvements in monitoring of the implementation of the initiative’s five guiding principles (Ho and Hanrahan 2011). This law continues through its reauthorizations to be endorsed by a great number of humanitarian organizations, including Oxfam, Food for the Hungry, Bread for the World, The Borgen Project, and the ONE Campaign, to name a few (Evans 2016). After being read twice on the Senate floor as per standard procedure, the bill was then referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, as per the recognition of “the critical role of food security in development and national security” (USAID 2019). Simply put, the Foreign Relations Committee concluded that it would be in the United States’ best economic and humanitarian interests to ensure a strong global agricultural and nutritional standard. After its passing in the Senate, an adjacent bill was received in the House and subsequently referred to the House Committee on Foreign Affairs. Strong bipartisan support led to an overwhelming majority approving to pass the bill in the House as well, which spoke to the significance of “recognizing the critical role of food security in development and national security” (USAID 2019). On July 20th, 2016, President Obama signed this monumental piece of legislation into law, officially designating it as Public Law No: 114-195.
As per the Constitution, the burden of implementation of passed Congressional legislation falls in the hands of the Executive Branch, which is headed by the sitting President. As per the stipulations of the GFSA, it is the responsibility of the President to coordinate the development and implementation of an “integrated whole-of-government strategy to accomplish the policy objectives set forth [in prior sections]” (Global Food Security Act of 2016). In the initial aftermath of President Obama’s approval, the strategy was to create a blueprint to effectively implement Feed the Future, the United Nations’ related Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and the United Nations’ 2030 agenda (USAID 2019). In previous years, this strategy has proved very useful, but as time has passed, the Global Food Security Strategy has had to be updated to take into account the increasingly volatile nature of the rapidly changing global context in the present. Building off of the lessons learned from the GFSS 2016-2021 strategy, this updated strategy serves as “a vigorous response to the challenges of [the] moment, including COVID-19, conflict, inequity, and climate change” (USAID 2022). The ultimate goal remains to partner with key stakeholders, including foreign governments, the private sector, the research community and others, to achieve a 20% reduction in poverty and stunting in the 20 highlighted Target countries throughout Africa, Asia and the Caribbean by 2026. There have been five new and/or elevated priority areas of emphasis and action in positioning the Feed the Future initiative to able to pivot based on the present: equity & inclusion, an ambitious approach to climate change, countering COVID-19’s long-term effects, integration of conflict migration & social cohesion, and working across the entire food system (USAID 2022).
Perhaps best articulated in a 2013 report of the US Government Accountability Office (GAO) regarding the intent of this law, “without ongoing assessments of risks on the ground…American money, goodwill, and expertise could be squandered” (Park 2013). In a separate report outlined by the GAO in the early stages of Feed the Future’s inception in 2010, it was noted that many governments of partner Target countries did not have the personnel to incorporate a large influx of aid into their development agendas, hurdling the original intent of the program (Park 2013). Certainly, without measures to remain accountable and informed regarding the impact of this initiative, there would be no way to assess whether current policies are having any tangible impact in the real life setting. As such, when the GFSA was going through rounds of approval in Congress, there was a rigorous monitoring, evaluation and learning (MEL) approach built into place to measure progress and remain accountable to the public of the use of these funds. The MEL approach includes “a common results framework, standard performance indicators, and an evaluation approach using impact and performance evaluations to focus on strengthening target country data systems and processes” (USAID 2022). As such, Feed the Future Accomplishments since its inception include 5.2 million more families no longer suffering from hunger, 3.4 million more children living free from stunting, $15.3 billion earned by farmers in new agricultural sales, $4 billion in loans for small-time farmers as well as private industry investment of $2.2 billion (McCollum 2022). Specifically in terms of the target countries where Feed the Future operates, there has been a recorded 28% drop in stunting in Tajikistan as well as a 68%, 33%, and 6% drop in hunger in Bangladesh, Ethiopia, and Zambia, respectively. In addition to the focused goals of reducing hunger & poverty, there has been significant increase in women’s empowerment efforts across several Target countries, including a 31% increase in the last seven years in Bangladesh alone. A Feeding America report found that nearly 9 in 10 Americans, meaning 88% of the sampled population, facing hunger agree with federal and local government initiatives to treat food insecurity as an urgent crisis. Despite current reports of an improving economy and lower unemployment rates across the country, tens of millions of Americans continue to rely on food banks and pantries as the source of their next hot meal. While a majority of the respondents indicated that hunger is a major issue domestically, many also referenced the idea that everyone deserves dignified access to food, and strongly believed that Congressional policies to reduce hunger should make it easier for children and adults alike to enroll in food assistance programs in times of need (Feeding America 2023).
Overall, the GFSA has been a substantive piece of legislation in targeting hunger as a major national issue. The passage of this legislation signifies to the international community that food security is a priority in uplifting the economies of developing nations, and its reauthorization sends a strong message that America is continuing its commitment to tackling the root causes of hunger by expanding Feed the Future. I agree with the steps that the USAID has taken to account for the growing effects of climate change and other environmental factors relating to the production of food, and has changed their strategy for the next four years in order to continue to optimize availability of food across the world. Given that the current USAID expires in 2028, I am confident that Congress will continue to reauthorize this act for as long as massive international famine continues to exist.
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Written by: Shreya Bhardwaj
Date Published: 3/25/2024
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SOURCES:
Barnhart, Jim. 2020. Feed the Future Progress Snapshot: Cultivating Hope.
Evans, Kristina. 2016. “Global Food Secuirty Act Passes Congress with Bipartisan Support.” Borgen Magazine. https://www.borgenmagazine.com/global-food-security-act-passes-congress-with-bipartisan-support/.
“Feeding America Report Reveals Hunger in the US Remains an Urgent Crisis Despite Progress During Pandemic.” 2023. PR Newswire.
Global Food Security Act of 2016. 2016. Public Law 114-195 https://www.congress.gov/bill/114th-congress/senate-bill/1252/text.
“Global Food Security Reauthorization Act of 2022 (H.R. 8446).” United States Congresswoman Betty McCollum. https://mccollum.house.gov/GFSA#:~:text=The%20Global%20Food%20Security%20Reauthorization,global%20food%20and%20nutrition%20security. (December 13, 2023).
Hanrahan, Melissa D. Ho Charles. 2011. The Obama Administration’s Feed the Future Initiative.
Park, Alex. 2013. “Is $7 Billion in Anti-Hunger Support Falling Through the Cracks.” MotherJones. https://www.motherjones.com/food/2013/09/usaid-obama-feed-future-aid/.
“Policy Issues.” United States Department of State. https://www.state.gov/policy-issues/ (December 13, 2023).
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