Fighting Hunger and Addressing Humanitarian Needs in Africa

Statement on Fighting Hunger and Addressing Humanitarian Needs in Africa

The United States and the United Kingdom announced today that they will meet the remaining food needs and help provide shelter, water, and health care to millions of people in the Horn of Africa to avert famine, as well as provide additional resources to humanitarian emergencies throughout Africa.

This cooperation complements the ongoing work leading up to the G8 Summit on the longer term challenges of helping Africa to make faster progress towards the Millennium Goals, and on a comprehensive and sustained program to support Africa's own efforts. The results of these discussions will be announced at Gleneagles.

The United States today is announcing that it will provide an additional $674 million for humanitarian emergencies in Africa this year, in addition to the approximately $1.4 billion the United States has already committed. The United Kingdom expects to contribute some $300 million this year in response to humanitarian needs in Africa, including $50 million for Ethiopia.

The United Kingdom and the United States call jointly on the rest of the donor community to commit to working with African nations to address the remaining urgent humanitarian needs, as well as the underlying causes, which the UN estimates to have an unfunded need of more than $3.5 billion.

While responding to urgent needs, the U.S. and the UK are taking forward the G8 initiative launched at Sea Island on "Ending the Cycle of Famine" which aims to work with the New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD) and individual countries to improve agricultural productivity. Under this initiative, the United States and the United Kingdom, together with other donors, are investing in longer term support to increase food security in Africa as a whole. For example, both nations support the Productive Safety Nets Program in Ethiopia to move millions of people from aid dependence to sustainable livelihoods. The United Kingdom, United States, and other G-8 members have pledged their support for the Comprehensive African Agriculture Development Plan, launched last month in Accra, Ghana.

The United States and the United Kingdom also commit to working with the United Nations Secretary General to strengthen the international humanitarian response system.

# # #, For Immediate Release, Office of the Press Secretary, June 7, 2005