[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 68 (Friday, May 26, 2006)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E991-E992]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                        THE WORLD HUNGER CRISIS

                                 ______
                                 

                       HON. CHRISTOPHER H. SMITH

                             of new jersey

                    in the house of representatives

                         Thursday, May 25, 2006

  Mr. SMITH. Mr. Speaker, today I chaired a hearing to examine the 
enormous need for food aid around the world, particularly in sub-
Saharan Africa which has the greatest need. As an essential element for 
life, the assurance of food availability must necessarily be a focal 
point of our humanitarian assistance programs and at the forefront of 
our interventions on behalf of those in the greatest need. While the 
extent of that need can at times be overwhelming, we must keep in mind 
the verses of Matthew 25, ``as you did it to one of the least of these 
my brothers, you did it to me,'' and ``as you did not do it to one of 
the least of these, you did not do it to me.''
  Last August, I, along with Greg Simpkins of the Africa Subcommittee 
staff, visited Kalma and Mukjar refugee camps in South and West Darfur. 
We saw first hand how food aid was making the difference between life 
and death for the thousands of people in the camps. We spoke with many 
people whose lives had been utterly devastated by the ravages of war, 
but who were keeping hope alive thanks to the gifts of international 
humanitarian aid and food aid.
  However, our visit to these camps raised the question as to what the 
Government of Sudan, as well as other developing country governments, 
are going to do about contributing to the elimination of hunger by 
opening their own stocks of food or by facilitating, rather than 
hampering, the delivery of food to hungry people in their countries. In 
Sudan, the government has not only failed to contribute to the feeding 
of its own people, but has actually interfered with the supply of food 
to those in need in the Darfur camps like the ones we visited. 
Moreover, the Government of Sudan placed a commercial embargo on Kalma 
camp while we were there that prevented the sale of food and other 
necessary items to those able to buy them in the camps. We in the 
developed world should help feed those in need, but it is also the 
responsibility of the governments in question to respond to the needs 
of their own people.
  The UN World Food Program has announced that almost 731,000 metric 
tons of food will be needed this year to feed the 6.1 million people 
caught in the conflict in Southern Sudan and Darfur. Over 89,000 metric 
tons is needed in Eastern Chad for Sudanese refugees, Chadian nationals 
adversely affected by the influx of refugees, and a contingency reserve 
of six months for the refugees. An estimated 6.25 million people in the 
Horn of Africa face a severe humanitarian crisis this year resulting 
primarily from successive seasons of failed rains in that region. The 
World Food Program has sent out appeals for approximately 1.6 million 
metric tons of food aid for the Horn of Africa and the rest of the sub-
Sahara.
  This does not include, of course, the emergency food needs of peoples 
in other parts of the world, including Haiti, North Korea, Afghanistan, 
Bangladesh and Indonesia.
  It is important to keep in mind that behind these mind-boggling 
numbers are real men, women and children, people like you and me, 
individuals who are suffering not only the present pangs of hunger but 
who will have to live with the long-term effects of mal- and under-
nutrition. There are also those for whom the lack of food exacerbates 
the cruel effects of HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases, thereby 
increasing the likelihood of death. This is the reason why it is so 
important for us to examine the crisis of world hunger, and to continue 
to direct our efforts to address it.

[[Page E992]]

  I am proud to say that we Americans continue our long tradition of 
compassion and generosity in responding to these needs. The United 
States is the primary donor of food aid in the world and the leading 
donor of food aid to Sudan and Chad. The U.S. Government has 
contributed a total of $282.2 million worth of food aid thus far in FY 
2006 to Darfur and the Sudanese refugees in Chad through the World Food 
Program and the International Committee of the Red Cross. This follows 
contributions totaling $324.5 million to the same two organizations in 
FY 2005 for Sudan and Chad, in addition to 200,000 tons of wheat from 
the Bill Emerson Humanitarian Trust for Darfur.
  The United States is also addressing the nutritional needs of 
particularly vulnerable populations. The President's Emergency Plan for 
AIDS Relief maximizes leverage with other donors including the USAID, 
the USDA and the World Food Program (with U.S. financial support) to 
address the needs of HIV-affected communities, both in terms of 
providing direct food assistance and in addressing the underlying 
causes of food insecurity.
  During the hearing, we heard from our distinguished witnesses about 
the hunger crises in our world, what is being done to respond, and 
recommendations as to how we can respond better. Witnesses also 
testified about the contribution that U.S. food aid makes to longer-
term, non-emergency development goals and the corresponding impact that 
this food aid has on individual lives. The most recent data available 
indicates that over 4 million children in 26 countries participated in 
the McGovern-Dole International Food for Education and Child Nutrition 
program in fiscal years 2003 and 2004. This program has resulted in 
higher school enrollment and improved access to education, especially 
for girls.
  It is also reported by teachers and program administrators that the 
FFE program has increased local communities' concern for and 
participation in their children's education. There is a general 
improvement in academic performance as children are better able to 
concentrate after receiving a nutritious school lunch. Both families 
and the school community benefit from training on food preparation, 
health and hygiene. In this regard, we were privileged to hear 
testimony from Mr. Gabriel Laizer, who now works on international 
development issues for the Alliance to End Hunger and who started his 
career as a beneficiary of a feeding program in his primary school in 
Arusha, Tanzania.
  My good friend Tony Hall, a former Member of Congress who just 
recently left his position as the U.S. Ambassador to the UN Agencies 
for Food and Agriculture, also testified. He has published a book 
recently entitled, ``Changing the Face of Hunger,'' which I highly 
recommend, and which recounts many stories from Ambassador Hall's years 
of confronting hunger, poverty and oppression throughout the world. In 
his conclusion, he writes, ``when you show Americans the poor and the 
hungry--when you connect with them and educate them and they see the 
problems themselves--they don't turn their backs. They want to help. 
They respond. We are a compassionate people, a giving people. We 
care.''
  In that spirit of compassion, I would ask my colleagues in Congress 
to continue to support the FY2006 emergency supplemental appropriation 
of $350 million for food aid. While encouraging other international 
donors to respond in a likewise generous manner, we must continue to 
help, to respond, to show that we care.
  It is my hope and expectation that we may further educate ourselves, 
our colleagues in Congress and the American people about the poor and 
the hungry, and we may respond with the compassion that they so 
desperately need.

                          ____________________