Olympics Hunger Summit Presents Opportunity for Progress on Global Food Security

WASHINGTON, Aug. 9, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The globe teeters from food crisis to food crisis. Food shortages in 2008 led to riots in 30 countries. The famine in the Horn of Africa, just a year ago, affected 13 million people, requiring over $1 billion in aid. Now, in the Sahel, more than 18 million lack access to sufficient food. 

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The Hunger Summit, to be led by U.K. Prime Minister David Cameron on October 12, will use the Olympics as a catalyst for renewed focus on these entrenched global hunger issues. ACDI/VOCA supports a recommitment to the issue of hunger.

Integrated development approaches are needed to address these chronic food security problems. Smart aid takes a long, comprehensive view of food security and development.

ACDI/VOCA's focus for 50 years has been food security, and it currently manages 84 projects in 40 countries to empower people to succeed in the global economy. It implements the majority of projects under the U.S. Agency for International Development's (USAID) Support for Food Security Activities contract, a major component of Feed the Future.

Through activities targeted to the most vulnerable, ACDI/VOCA increases the availability and quality of food in local and regional markets and improves consumer access to nutritious food. ACDI/VOCA food security programs address immediate needs in times of crisis to prevent bad situations from deteriorating by strengthening the resiliency of vulnerable populations and enhancing their ability to respond to future shocks.

Through comprehensive value chain approaches to agricultural development, ACDI/VOCA addresses opportunities and constraints of all participants in the food chain, including smallholder farmers, and provides more productive and sustainable results that help nations grow their way out of food shortages.

ACDI/VOCA Food Security and Agricultural Development Experts Available for Interview

Our experts, in Washington, D.C., Ethiopia and Malawi are available for media interviews. As Cameron calls for increased attention to hunger, they can address the concrete details of what works in food security and agricultural development programs, as well as what's needed for ongoing crises. Experts available for interview:

Paul Guenette, ACDI/VOCA's senior president for corporate affairs, has designed and managed large, integrated, sustainable development programs in a career spanning 35 years and 59 countries. He has implemented development programs for USAID, conducted international marketing workshops for the USDA Foreign Agricultural Service and analyzed agribusiness global trends for the World Bank.

John "Bick" Riley has 20 years of experience managing field programs in Africa. Currently, he serves as chief of party for ACDI/VOCA's Ethiopia FEED Project, funded by USDA. Previously, he was chief of party for the $34 million USAID-funded Agricultural Development and Value Chain Enhancement Project (ADVANCE) in Ghana.

Robert Turner is chief of party for ACDI/VOCA's USAID-funded project to support structured and transparent commodity trading systems in Malawi that can help reduce global hunger.

ACDI/VOCA Programs Take an Integrated Approach to Development

Since 1963 and in 145 countries, ACDI/VOCA has empowered people in developing and transitional nations to succeed in the global economy. Based in Washington, D.C., ACDI/VOCA is a nonprofit international development organization that delivers technical and management assistance in agribusiness, financial services, enterprise development, community development and food security to promote broad-based economic growth and vibrant civil society.

Media Contact:
Anja Tranovich
202 469 6095
[email protected]
www.acdivoca.org
Twitter: @acdivoca

SOURCE ACDI/VOCA