In response to Mideast wars, increase Food for Peace

Thousands of families in Al Waer, Syria just received a package of food and hope. These were rations with wheat, rice and other supplies from the UN World Food Programme (WFP).  

Now this event may not have made headlines around the world. But for these Syrians, blocked from humanitarian aid for months by the civil war, getting food packages was like a miracle. What made all this possible: The U.S. Food for Peace program.  

{mosads}Food for Peace is the single largest donor to the World Food Programme, the lead agency in responding to the world’s hunger emergencies. And we have plenty of emergencies right now whether it’s Syria, Yemen, Iraq, South Sudan, Nepal and the list goes on and on. While each of these situations may be unique, they share one thing in common: food shortages.  

There is no doubt Congress and President Obama should increase funding for Food for Peace in the upcoming FY16 budget.  

In a world where there is plenty of chaos, Food for Peace is one of the few stabilizing forces we have. Any hopes of building peace in the Middle East will depend, in part, on feeding the hungry.  

We’ve seen the horrifying reports each day of growing conflict in Yemen, Iraq and Syria.  What we often don’t hear about is the consequences of the fighting: hunger.  

There are millions of civilians in these war-torn countries who live on the brink of starvation each day. They have lost their food supply, homes and livelihoods. We must do everything we can to feed them.   

Each day more people need our help. Just within the last month, thousands of Iraqis have been forced to flee Ramadi city after the takeover by ISIS. The UN World Food Programme (WFP), the Norwegian Refugee Council are among those providing life-saving food aid.  

But lack of funding is a major threat to this relief operation. We need to step up our support of food aid.  

Jane Pearce, the director of WFP in Iraq, says, “WFP is doing all it can to help ease the suffering of people who have left their homes and lives behind because of the ongoing violence. However, more is needed and we call on the international community to step up aid to those Iraqis who are being displaced by the conflict.” 

Civilians fleeing the ISIS attack in Yarmouk, Syria are being fed by WFP and its partner, the UN Relief and Works Agency. WFP is providing an enriched peanut paste called Plumpy’Doz to children. This food saves the children from deadly malnutrition. Food for Peace makes this life-saving aid possible. It’s the single largest donor to WFP’s mission in Syria. 

Humanitarian aid agencies are asking Obama and the Congress to increase Food for Peace funding. The World Food Program USA says the funding should be at least $1.75 billion a year, whereas the president’s and proposals in Congress are only around $1.4 billion.  

Increasing Food for Peace funding would not break the bank either. Food for Peace funding is currently less than one tenth of one percent of the federal budget. If you include provisions such as flexibility for aid agencies to use the funding for local purchase of foods in developing countries, you can make the program most efficient.  

Given the size of the humanitarian crisis in Syria, Iraq, Yemen and other trouble spots around the globe, there is no question Food for Peace funding should go up. But there is real fear Congress and Obama will not do this.  

Hunger often falls off the radar of the leadership in Washington. It’s not the high profile issue it was after World War II, for example, when the “greatest generation” stopped a famine in Europe and Asia.

We must sound the alarm as to why Food for Peace must be supported by the president and the Congress. .

We should act right away to boost the Food for Peace budget. Millions of children, victimized by these wars in the Middle East, should not have to suffer in hunger. Food for Peace is their main lifeline. We cannot take that away from them.  

Lambers partnered with the UN World Food Programme on the book Ending World Hunger. His writings have been published by the New York Times, History News Network, Huffington Post, Cleveland Plain Dealer, Cincinnati Enquirer, Buffalo News and other media outlets.