Milling & Baking News - December 28, 2021 - 25

TUES | 12 28 2021
more challenging in coming years.
" On the one hand, global needs are
increasing due to the huge damage done by
COVID, placing even greater pressure on
WFP and on our partners to use precious
resources as wisely as possible, " Mr. Beasley
said. " On the other hand, the budgets of
donor countries face their own pressures
due to growing national needs from the pandemic
and its economic fallout, so some countries
are reducing aid. That is forcing WFP
to reduce rations - something we never
USAID: Robust food
assistance across the globe
U
S international food assistance
programs in the future will
include continued donations of
US-grown food alongside more recently
employed methods of providing assistance
to those in urgent need, including
purchasing food commodities grown
or raised in regions closer to a hunger
outbreak, and even distributing cash or
vouchers to refugees or other displaced
families so they may purchase food readily
available in local markets but unaffordable
to them, a spokesperson for the
US Agency for International Development
told Milling & Baking News.
" The United States is the world's leading
donor of humanitarian assistance,
providing more than $10.5 billion in
fiscal year 2020, " the spokesperson
said. " More than two-thirds of this
funding- more than $7 billion-came
from the US Agency for International
Development, including nearly $4.8
billion in market-based and in-kind food
assistance. The United States is committed
to continuing to provide robust food
assistance around the world. "
The spokesperson pointed out that in
2020, USAID's Office of Food for Peace
(USAID/FFP) merged with the agency's
Office of US Foreign Disaster Assistance.
The resulting body, the USAID Bureau for
Humanitarian Assistance, " aims to elevate
US humanitarian assistance to better
respond to the magnitude, complexity, and
protracted nature of today's emergencies. "
The spokesperson said Congress appropriates
funding for both the PL 480 Title
II account, which provides for in-kind
donations of US-grown food, and the
bakingbusiness.com
International Disaster Assistance (IDA)
account, which primarily provides for
market-based food assistance.
" These two streams of funding allow
USAID to draw both from in-kind USgrown
commodities as well as the full suite
of market-based food assistance modalities
depending on the specific context on the
ground, " the spokesperson said.
Asked what US international food
assistance may look like in the future,
the spokesperson said, " USAID is focused
on providing the right assistance at the
right time. Just as US food assistance has
continued to evolve over our (USAID)
60-plus year history, it will continue to
adapt based on the crises at hand. In-kind
food assistance is, and will continue to
be, a critical tool where markets are not
functioning and food is scarce. We will
also continue to draw from a full suite of
market-based modalities, including local,
regional, and international procurement,
food vouchers, and cash transfers for
food, where the situation on the ground
makes those tools more efficient and
effective ways to reach people in need. "
The spokesperson said USAID considers
a variety of factors when determining
the most effective means of providing
food assistance, including the specific
needs on the ground, what access it has
to affected populations, market conditions
in the affected area, and costs of
transporting food assistance.
" In most cases, flexibility and
complementarity are the keys to
effectiveness, " the spokesperson
said. " A combination of humanitarian
response options is often the most
MILLING & BAKING NEWS
25
want to do. But I would urge our donors not
to go down this path. If we act now, we can
avoid the global hunger crisis spinning out
of control, but if we wait for it to hit full force
before we act, the costs will be immense. It's
all hands on deck. We need to act today. " MBN
effective way to meet people's emergency
needs. For example, Yemen receives significant
in-kind food assistance because
the country imports roughly 90% of its
food supply, but an effective humanitarian
response in Yemen requires not
only in-kind food assistance but also
market-based assistance through food
vouchers. "
The product mix in US international
food assistance has changed over the past
several years with a greater emphasis on
nutrition and not simply on providing
essential calories.
" USAID provides food that best meets
nutritional needs and local dietary preferences, "
the spokesperson said. " These
commodities may vary year to year
based on where we are programming.
Over the past decade, USAID has also
been working to improve the nutritional
value of our food products by using
nutrient-fortified foods, such as Super
Cereal Plus and Corn Soy Blend Plus, as
well as ready-to-use foods (such as nutrient-fortified
peanut butter pastes) that
help address hunger while preventing
and treating malnutrition.
" For example, in South Sudan, USAID is
providing Ready-to-Use-Therapeutic Food
(RUTF) through the United Nations Children's
Fund (UNICEF) to treat the most
severely
USAID
http://www.bakingbusiness.com
Milling & Baking News - December 28, 2021

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Milling & Baking News - December 28, 2021
