www.bread.org
Crista Friedli
people who would otherwise
have needed emergency aid
during the most recent crisis.
Because the program is multiyear and thus more predictable,
depletion of household assets
can be prevented more easily
and community sub-projects
can be better planned. The
safety-net program ensures
that chronic, predictable needs
are met while at the same time
facilitating a transition from
emergency assistance to longerterm solutions.
Another food crisis is now
looming in the Sahel region
of West Africa, where an estimated 15 million people are in
need of food following belowaverage rains that caused poor
harvests. The United Nations
has warned that an estimated $725 million will be needed in 2012 for emergency assistance to save lives and stave off conflict in the droughtstricken region.
“Chronic emergencies” such as the ones in the Horn of Africa and the Sahel underscore the need for continued attention and funding for long-term solutions to food insecurity.
While emergency responses to meet the immediate needs of
vulnerable communities are crucial, it is equally necessary
to find long-term solutions to prevent large-scale food crises
from erupting in the first place. It is preventing crises, not
responding to emergencies, that puts countries on the path
forward to sustainable development.
Several medium-term initiatives are already under way.
One of these, the World Bank’s Global Food Crisis Response
Program, is providing $1.5 billion to help 40 million people
in need. So far, more than 40 low-income countries are receiving or will receive new and improved seeds, irrigation, and
other farm support, along with food assistance for the most
vulnerable people. Early results are promising: for example,
fertilizer distributed by the program in Benin enabled the
production of an extra 100,000 tons of cereals. For the longer
term, the World Bank Group is boosting its spending on agriculture, from $4.1 billion in 2008 to a projected $6 billion - $8
billion annually.
The World Bank Group also supports wider measures
to improve nutrition among vulnerable groups. Through
safety net programs such as conditional cash transfers, the
World Bank provides about 2.3 million school meals every
day to children in low-income countries; it also works with
the World Food Program to help feed 22 million children in
70 countries. Over the past decade, the World Bank has provided 98 million children with vitamin A supplements and
treatment for worms, as well as information for their parents
on improved child feeding practices. Donors can help with
these effective multilateral efforts by providing additional
resources to initiatives such as GAFSP, SUN, the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research, and the
CAADP Multi-Donor Trust Fund.
Financing Local Capacity-Strengthening Initiatives
Long-term progress against hunger and poverty depends
on the capacity of each developing country to build on the
gains achieved with donor assistance rather than having donor assistance replace its own efforts. The Organization for
Economic Cooperation and Development defines capacity
building as the process through which individuals, groups,
and countries develop and enhance their ability to perform
functions, solve problems, and achieve objectives.21 Insufficient human and institutional capacity remain significant
obstacles to food security for many countries.
Achieving global food security therefore requires more
than just financing for programs. For example, a government’s
capacity to manage aid resources effectively is largely determined by financial management systems—meaningful functions—such as procurement, budgeting, and auditing. Governments also need strong systems to manage public expenditures
and medium-term fiscal policies that can protect the gains that
Bread for the World Institute 9