International U.S. Food Aid Hindered, Investigators Find

Multiple challenges hinder the efficiency of U.S. food aid programs by reducing the amount, timeliness, and quality of food provided, according to a recent government audit.

The United States is the largest global food aid donor, accounting for over half of all food aid supplies to alleviate hunger and support development. Since 2002, Congress has appropriated an average of $2 billion per year for U.S. food aid programs, which delivered an average of 4 million metric tons of food commodities per year, says a recent report from the Government Accountability Office (GAO), the nonpartisan investigative arm of Congress.

Despite growing demand for food aid, rising business and transportation costs have contributed to a 52 percent decline in average tonnage delivered over the last five years, GAO finds.

"Specific factors that cause inefficiencies include (1) funding and planning processes that increase delivery costs and lengthen time frames; (2) ocean transportation and contracting practices that create high levels of risk for ocean carriers, resulting in increased rates; (3) legal requirements that result in awarding of food aid contracts to more expensive service providers; and (4) inadequate coordination between U.S. agencies and food aid stakeholders to track and respond to food and delivery problems," the GAO report says.

"U.S. agencies have taken some steps to address timeliness concerns," it adds. "The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) has been stocking or prepositioning food commodities domestically and abroad, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has implemented a new transportation bid process, but the long-term cost effectiveness of these initiatives has not yet been measured."

Bookmark http://universeeverything.blogspot.com/ and drop back in sometime.

USAID Bolsters International Avian Influenza Response

The U.S. government through the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) announced a three-year contract to bolster international capacity for avian and pandemic influenza response. Stamping Out Pandemic and Avian Influenza (STOP AI), awarded to Development Alternatives, Inc., is designed to play a critical role in U.S. efforts to limit the impact of avianinfluenza and to minimize its potential to spread globally. The contract is worth up to $35.8 million.

Highly pathogenic H5N1 avian influenza has to date been detected in 55 countries, resulting in the death or destruction of over 220 million birds, and the deaths of 170 people, according to the World Organization forAnimal Health (OIE) and UN health officials. Its potential to mutate into a form easily transmitted to humans has sparked concerns of a potential human influenza pandemic. STOP AI aims to increase global capacity to contain H5N1 avian influenza in animals, therefore minimizing its spread from animals to humans and the opportunity for it to develop into a pandemic strain.

Ambassador John Lange, the U.S. Special Representative, Avian and Pandemic Influenza, says, "STOP AI will help countries reduce and containthe spread of avian influenza in animals by delivering technical assistanceand management services to strengthen the response capacity of developingcountries -- which are particularly vulnerable to the threat due to insufficient resources and infrastructure. We are particularly pleased by the opportunity presented by STOP AI to closely coordinate with expertsfrom the U.S. Department of State, U.S. Agency for International Development, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the U.S. Department ofHealth and Human Services, and other concerned U.S. Government agencies. STOP AI will also help utilize the available infrastructure of our international partners and multilateral organizations such as the United Nations System Influenza Coordinator, the World Health Organization, the UNFood and Agriculture Organization, and the World Organization for Animal Health to help countries effectively respond to local animal outbreaks of highly pathogenic H5N1 avian influenza."

Dr. Kent Hill, assistant administrator for USAID's Bureau for Global Health says, "STOP AI will play a vital role in supporting the U.S. government's efforts to prevent the spread of avian influenza and to minimize its potential to threaten the global community in terms of animal health, human health, and economic growth and development."

Hill also emphasized STOP AI's role in strengthening global planning and preparedness, improving early-warning disease surveillance, and supporting an efficient and timely response to avian influenza outbreaks.

STOP AI's focus areas include developing a roster of technical experts capable of deploying to developing countries in advisory and response roles, and helping threatened and affected countries to prepare for, respond to, and recover from outbreaks. The project will also provide logistical support to technical U.S. and international teams deployed for outbreak response.

The project is designed to enhance the U.S. government's international avian influenza response, which is described in the Implementation Plan for the National Strategy for Pandemic Influenza.

USAID has committed a total of $191.5 million in avian influenza efforts worldwide. Along with its partners, USAID supports efforts in 55 countries for improved planning, preparedness, communications, early-warning surveillance and disease detection, outbreak response, and commodity availability and use.


Bookmark http://universeeverything.blogspot.com/ and drop back in sometime.

USAID, Procter & Gamble Highlight Partnership for Safe Drinking Water in Africa

The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and consumer products conglomerate Procter and Gamble are highlighting their partnership to provide safe drinking water at the household level to millions of children in Kenya, Malawi, Ethiopia, Democratic Republic of Congo, and Rwanda.

"This partnership is a significant step to provide safe drinking water in Africa and elsewhere for millions of people," says Kent Hill, assistant administrator of USAID for global health. "This unique effort demonstrates the power ofpartnership by leveraging the skills and resources of Procter & Gamble and the U.S. government to reduce diarrheal disease, responsible for the deaths of an estimated 4,000 children per day around the globe."

This partnership focuses on provision of two proven, cost-effective, household-level technologies to disinfect drinking water. WaterGuard is a dilute bleach product developed by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), andPUR Purifier of Water is a powdered water treatment product developed by Procter & Gamble and CDC. These disinfection technologies have been shown to reduce disease and death in numerous health intervention trials.The technologies are now in the process of being promoted using social marketing and other approaches to raise awareness and change behavior in many African countries, the partner organizations say. They are also being used to provide safe drinkingwater for emergency relief, including the recent floods in Kenya and Ethiopia, and to help address cholera outbreaks in the Congo and Malawi.

"We have provided more than 600 million liters of safe drinking water over the last three years," says Charlotte Otto, global external relations officer at P&G. "Our efforts to date have been a drop in the ocean compared to the vast need, and this partnership enables us to scale-up our efforts in order to make a much larger health impact."

Bookmark http://universeeverything.blogspot.com/ and drop back in sometime.

Officials Update Tsunami Recovery Two Years Later

Though the U.S. was among the largest contributors, the global response to the events of December 26, 2004 was essential in meeting the immediate needs of the affected populations of the region and to prevent a secondary disaster due to lack of sanitation and other public health concerns, according to officials who led the effort.

Mark Ward, senior deputy assistant administrator for the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), spoke at a tsunami relief and recovery update briefing at theNational Press Club in Washington. The purpose of the event was to provide an update on reconstruction activities in the region in recognition of the second anniversary of the Indian Ocean tsunami. Also speaking was Eric Schwartz, the UN Secretary General's Special Envoy for Tsunami Recovery.

An undersea earthquake in the Indian Ocean occured on Dec. 26, 2004, triggering a series of devastating tsunamis killing more than 275,000 with thousands of others missing, with recent analysis compiled lists a total of 229,866 people lost, including 186,983 dead and 42,883 missing, according to Wikipedia. The catastrophe is one of the deadliest disasters in modern history.

The needed responses were met by the cooperation of the people and governments of the region and by public and private organizations and governmentsaround the world, according to officials who spoke at the Press Club.

In the two years since the tsunami, much work has been done to rebuild lives and livelihoods and U.S. government assistance has totaled more than$840 million in this effort. In addition, U.S. charitable donations haveexceeded $1.8 billion, according to the Center on Philanthropy at Indiana University.

As a result of this generosity, the U.S. is working with the affectedregions to rebuild infrastructure, provide jobs and training (particularly for women), strengthen communities and local governments, and develop early warning systems and effective disaster response programs.

"I'm pleased with our program to date, but more needs to be done," says Ward. "We're building roads that will withstand a tsunami, water sanitation systems, clinics, and homes. We're also providing job training and credit for small businesses. All of this is needed for a self-sufficient recovery."

Ward chaired both the USAID Tsunami Task Force as well as the USAID South Asia Earthquake Task Force and is now leading the U.S. government's Lebanon Reconstruction Task Force.


Bookmark http://universeeverything.blogspot.com/ and drop back in sometime.

Enter your Email





Preview Powered by FeedBlitz