InterAction member NGOs will spend more than $1 billion in private funds on programs that advance food security, agriculture and nutrition over the next three years. 

Leading NGO alliance InterAction supports efforts to reform food assistance programs and urges U.S. lawmakers to retain the focus of these programs on reaching the world’s poorest and most vulnerable. 

This month’s Power of Partn

Foreign assistance saves lives, stabilizes countries, opens markets and helps those in need. Yet under sequestration – automatic spending cuts taking effect this March – poverty-focused development and humanitarian accounts are being slashed by 5 percent.  This translates into real human suffering.  

NGO alliance InterAction urged members of Congress and the administration to restore support for life-saving foreign assistance programs in continued budget negotiations, warning that sequestration cuts that take effect today will cost lives.

A summary of the progress made by G8 countries towards achieving specific committments as reported in the 2012 Camp David Accountability Report. This progress is measured, where applicable, against recommendations made by the U.S. G8/G20 Advocacy Alliance prior to the summits. 

InterAction President and CEO, Sam Worthington, contributes an article to the Arabella Advisor's blog on what's needed to takle chronic hunger. 

This document, researched and developed by Mercy Corps, shows the differences in the House and Senate FY2013 spending plans in agricultural appropriations for the following programs: Food for Peace and McGovern-Dole International Food for Education and Child Nutrition.

This week's update includes the latest news on the lame duck session in Congress, an analysis of what is likely to happen to committee chairmanships on the Hill, a summary of a hearing on Feed the Future, a list of upcoming hearings and a list of recommended articles.

InterAction member NGOs will spend more than $1 billion in private funds on programs that advance food security, agriculture and nutrition from October 2012 to September 2015.

On October 22, 2012, U.S. presidential candidates will hold their third and final public debate – this time focusing on foreign policy. CBS moderator Bob Schieffer is expected to ask the candidates about their views on issues ranging from the recent events in Libya and the conflict in Syria to America’s role in the world and what constitutes effective U.S. foreign assistance.

In a massive attempt to tackle global hunger, leading U.S.-based international NGOs will spend more than $1 billion in private funds over the next three years on agriculture, food and nutrition programs, announced U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and NGO alliance InterAction on Thursday.

At the 2012 G20 Summit in Los Cabos, Mexico, a new initiative was launched to harness private sector creativity to enhance food security and agricultural development in the world’s poorest countries. AgResults uses results-based economic incentives to promote competition amongst private sector actors to cultivate and market agricultural technologies in developing countries.

This report is produced by the OCHA Mali office in collaboration with humanitarian partners and is issued by OCHA Headquarters in New York. It covers the period from 26 July to 10 August 2012.

Samuel A. Worthington, president and CEO, wrote blog for Huffington Post on the Olympics.

Humanitarian groups partner with UPS to increasing their efforts to curb a recent outbreak of cholera in Mali, an area already devastated by drought, fighting, and food shortages.

UNICEF calls for the rights and well-being of children in South Sudan to be made an urgent priority as the one year anniversary of independence for the world’s newest nation approaches. With half the population under the age of 18, greater investments in children are vital for the country’s growth and stability.

The World Food Program offers an update on its activities in the Sahel, noting partnerships with local government and non-profit organizations have been especially successful, but ephasizing that security challenges for getting aid to Chad remain an issue.

InterAction President and CEO Samuel A. Worthington tells members of thr G8 why they should support food security ahead of the 2012 summit.

InterAction CEO Samuel A. Worthington comments on the Sahel crisis and the importance of strategic partnerships and sustained funding.

The World Food Program is attempting to scale-up their aid activities in the Sahel region, where families are facing growing food insecurity in addition to the upcoming rainy season. WFP is especially concerned about the status of adolescent girls, children and young mothers, who are disproportionately affected by a lack of food and poor nutrition.&n

Declaration issued by the leaders of the Group of 20 nations at the conclusion of their 2012 summit in Los Cabos, Mexico. 

WASHINGTON (June 19, 2012) – Members of the U.S.-based NGO alliance InterAction released the following statements on the outcomes of the G20 Summit:

Report looks at countries' donations to the Sahel as of June 15, 2012.

The United States is providing over $81 million in additional humanitarian assistance to support humanitarian needs as the lean season begins in the drought affected Sahel region of West Africa. With this additional contribution, the U.S.

This week's update includes summaries of a series of panels at USAID's "Frontiers in Development" forum, an update on InterAction's G20 work, and the usual list of upcoming hearings and articles of interest.

This Tuesday afternoon session focused on the varied factors that impact food security including climate change, natural resource degradation, and population growth. Panelists discussed the changing role of agriculture in the broader development context. Increased funding and leadership have made food security an important development topic.

"The June 18-19 summit of the Group of Twenty (G20) major economies in the Mexican resort of Los Cabos is expected to be dominated by discussions on resolving the Eurozone’s crippling debt crisis and restoring global growth."

As a food crisis intensifies across the semi-arid Sahel region of West Africa, millions of farming and herding families are struggling to get enough to eat.  

UNICEF urgently requires US$ 67 million to address the immediate needs of children and women affected by the Sahel nutrition crisis in the first half of 2012, which is part of UNICEF’s total 2012 requirements of US$ 120 million.

Report looks at countries' donations to the Sahel.  As of May 2012, there is a 42 percent gap in funding needs.

A joint report from Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the World Food Program (WFP) looks that the food crisis in the Sahel.

The Sahel region of West and Central Africa is in the grip of a food crisis. Already, families in hard-hit areas are employing desperate measures to find food, like foraging in anthills for bits of edible grain.

This week's update includes analysis of the latest news on the McGovern Dole Food for Peace Program and the FY2012 federal appropriations outlook; a summary of a hearing on waste and fraud in Afghanistan; and a list of upcoming hearings and a selection of recommended articles.

G-8 leaders urged to end child malnutrition in order to stimulate long-term economic development and greater progress against hunger and poverty

President Obama's speech at the Chicago Council on Global Affairs' annual symposium, where he announced the New Alliance for Food Security and Nutrition.

The Leaders of the Group of Eight, met at Camp David on May 18 and 19, 2012 to address major global economic and political challenges.

ActionAid today called the just released 2012 G8 Accountability a big step forward for accountability and transparency, but cautioned that the large unfinished agenda outlined in the report stood in stark contrast to the inadequate new initiatives taken by the G8 at this year’s summit.

Over the course of this weekend’s G8 Summit, President Obama and the other G8 leaders took real strides to improve food security and nutrition for children around the world; the New Alliance for Food Security and Nutrition set an important target of bringing 50 million people out of poverty in the next 10 years.

ActionAid USA offered to the following reaction to the food security section of the communique of the 2012 G8 summit. 

Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton, delivered a speech on food scurity at an annual symposium hosted by the Chicago Council on May 18, 2012.

Members of the U.S.-based NGO alliance InterAction released the following quotes on President Obama’s New Alliance for Food Security and Nutrition.

Leading NGO alliance InterAction welcomes an announcement by President Barack Obama on Friday that the Group of Eight  nations will commit to a new food security alliance during talks in Camp David this weekend and  urges G8 nations to follow through on previous promises.

DATE: Monday, May 14th, 10 am to 5 pm

LOCATION: Fordham University at Lincoln Center, 113 West 60th Street, New York, NY 10023, Lowenstein Building, 12th floor lounge

RSVP: iiha@fordham.edu

Statement of Samuel A. Worthington at the Mini-Summit on the Humanitarian Response to the Horn of Africa

Learn how the "Give a Goat" Coffee House is empowering families to provide for themselves, and how the Church of Guatemala's micro-finance program is helping small businesses grow.

InterAction, the largest alliance of U.S.-based international NGOs, welcomes the appointment of Ertharin Cousin as the new executive director of the United Nations World Food Programme.

Read about water wells, vegetable gardens and multilateral cooperation in the Philippines, and about a congregation in Tennessee calling members to act for social justice through their first U2charist.

InterAction News Release:

The outcome of the G20 summit in Cannes was mixed, with progress on tax havens but not enough concrete action to ease the burden of the financial crisis on the world’s poor, said InterAction, the largest alliance of U.S.-based NGOs.

InterAction and Oxfam (Mexico) are quoted in this article.

Did you know…
… that together, InterAction members and U.S. corporations manage an estimated $19.4 billion in international development program funds? Together, we represent more than half of the total U.S. private investment in developing countries.*

A recent survey of InterAction member CEOs, presidents and executive directors revealed:

USAID and the AdCouncil have launched a campaign to raise awareness about the drought in the Horn of Africa where more than 13.3 million people are in crisis.

The G20 Summit has evolved from its initial focus on the global financial crisis and macroeconomics to include issues of interest to development NGOs.

InterAction continues to monitor the situation in the Horn of Africa and advocate for the needs of the over 12 million people who have been affected by the drought that has engulfed the region.

Read how atoll permaculture in the Solomon Islands is helping to secure the food supply in spite of rising sea levels, and about the 150-year-strong Eight O’May luncheon that benefits organizations including Episcopal Relief &

The United Nations is expected to officially declare famine in parts of southern Somalia tomorrow (Wednesday, July 20), marking a new phase in a crisis that has affected the East Africa region.

On Capitol Hill next week, the House Foreign Affairs Committee is holding a markup hearing of the Foreign Relations Authorization Act, Fiscal Year 2012 on Wednesday, July 20 at 10:00am in room 2172 of the Rayburn House Office Building. Check for other upcoming hearings in the Update below.

G8 Deauville Declaration outlines commitments made by world leaders on May 6-27, 2011.

InterAction’s G8/G20 Task Force urges G8 leaders to implement the following recommendations at the May 26-27 summit in Deauville, France.

The G8 is committed to aid effectiveness in the areas of global health and food security. Food security is central in the G8's development concerns as the countries focus on financial aid as well as research. The G8 has also mobilized over 40 percent of the $60 billion that was pledged towards global health in 2007.

Yesterday, the compromise FY2011 full-year appropriations bill (HR 1473) passed through Congress, with a 260-117 vote in the House of Representatives and an 81-19 vote in the Senate. President Obama will sign the bill sometime today.

On April 14, 2011, InterAction President and CEO Samuel A. Worthington testified before the House Appropriations Subcommittee on State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs. His testimony, below, championed the importance and value of the poverty-focused development and humanitarian accounts administered by USAID and the State Department.

Facts and figures to support the 2011 Sphere Handbook: Humanitarian Charter and Minimum Standards in Humanitarian Response.

InterAction's G8/G20 Task Force released its 2011 G8 Summit Policy Paper entitled U.S. Leadership at the May G8 Summit late last week.

InterAction member IRD's report on activities they've completed in Haiti in the year since the January 12, 2010, earthquake.

A report released by InterAction member Oxfam on agricultural work to be done in Haiti since the January 12, 2010 earthquake.

With funding from the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), InterAction aims to dramatically improve current efforts to gather data from the field, generate partnerships and inform resource allocation by supporting the display of InterAction member activities by location.

January 12, 2010 was a day when the world turned its attention to Haiti. A powerful earthquake rocked the country's capital, Port au Prince, killing an estimated 230,000 people. More than 300,000 had been injured and over one million made homeless. It was the worst earthquake in the region in more than 200 years.

Solutions to the challenges of hunger and poverty are complex and cut across the realms of economics, politics, ecology, gender and agricultural technologies. Climate change and the environmental degradation of agricultural resources in many countries make the goal of food security even more daunting.

A letter to Senators Lugar, Casey, and Durbin from InterAction and 26 member organizations applauding the Congressmen's leadership in promoting global food security with the introduction of the Global Food Security Act (S.384).

A progress report on Agricultural Development for Reducing Hunger and Rural Povertysince publication of InterAction’s 2008 Foreign Assistance Briefing Book.

A progress report on the Obama administration's foreign assistance efforts since publication of InterAction’s 2008 Foreign Assistance Briefing Book.

Response on the Global Hunger and Food Security Initiative's strategy for strengthening and expanding global food security and recommendations on its implementation.

The Global Food Security Act of 2009 (H.R. 3077) was introduced on June 26, 2009 by Representative Betty McCollum.  The Global Food Security Act calls for the creation of a comprehensive food security strategy, a White House Coordinator to develop and oversee the strategy and authorizes agricultural development measures critical to addressing long-term hunger.  The House ver

This document outlines The Global Food Security Act of 2009 (H.R.3077) introduced by Representative Betty McCollum (D-MN).  The bill calls for a coordinated and comprehensive U.S. global food security strategy that leverages bilateral and multilateral investments and creates partnerships with the private sector, NGOs, and universities.

The document briefly summarizes the Roadmap to End Hunger and Promote Food Security Act of 2009 introduced on June 11, 2009 by Representatives Jim McGovern (D-MA) and Jo Ann Emerson (R-MO).  The bill outlines a comprehensive U.S. strategy to effectively address world hunger and improve food security and the mechanisms necessary to coordinate the strategy.

To learn more about the Best Practices and Innovations (BPI) Initiative, please visit: www.interaction.org/best-practices-innovations.

Response from InterAction to the 2009 G8 Summit Declaration and Preliminary Accountability Report

This policy brief is part of a larger series in InterAction’s 2009 Foreign Assistance Briefing Book.

Critical Problems, Recommendations, and actions for the Obama Administration and the 111th Congress