I am one of your constituents and I am writing to ask you to support the new appeal for Congress to provide $5 billion dollars in supplemental funding for international food assistance programs.
The world is facing a hunger catastrophe on an unprecedented scale, with the war in Ukraine fueling food crises around the world. Prior to the conflict in Ukraine, the number of people facing crisis levels of hunger worldwide had already more than doubled since 2019. Today, 276 million people are experiencing the most extreme forms of hunger, primarily because of rising man-made conflicts and Covid-19-related economic hardships and supply chain disruptions.
The cost of food, fuel, and shipping is rising, and new emergencies like the war in Ukraine have led to a massive funding shortfall among global food assistance organizations. Collectively, their shortfall has increased by 50 percent since the beginning of this year. The U.N. World Food Programme was already cutting rations to hungry people as a result. To make matters worse, our estimates show that if the Ukraine crisis continues, the number of people facing severe hunger worldwide could rise by an additional 47 million people this year.
That’s why we are asking you to support this $5 billion dollar appeal. The millions of people facing famine conditions around the planet cannot afford a delay, nor can humanitarian organizations continue making impossible choices everyday as to who lives and who dies because of a lack of funding.
I ask you – my representative – to take action to prevent this tsunami of hunger from reaching American shores in ways that will undoubtedly require additional taxpayer dollars for more costly interventions down the road. Supporting this appeal for funding is morally right, economically smart and vital for our national security.