The United States is pleased to participate in negotiations on the Principles for Responsible Agricultural Investment (RAI) next week as part of the UN Committee on World Food Security (CFS) at the Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN (FAO) in Rome.  These multi-stakeholder negotiations are intended to finalize critical principles that will help guide …

Today, at the high-level launch of the United Nations’ Sahel Humanitarian Response Plan in Rome, Italy, U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) Assistant Administrator for Democracy, Conflict, and Humanitarian Assistance Nancy Lindborg announced USAID’s RISE (Resilience in the Sahel-Enhanced) Initiative. RISE commits more than $130 million over the first two years of a five-year effort …

U.S. President Barack Obama’s 2014 budget proposal, which was announced today, includes reforms to how U.S. food aid is managed that will enable an estimated two to four million more hungry people to be fed every year with the same resources. While maintaining a significant level of in-kind food aid procurements from the United States, …

The United States, as Chair of the G-20 Agricultural Market Information System (AMIS) group, has consulted with G-20 and other experts at the October 3-4 regularly scheduled AMIS meeting in Rome. The U.S. concurs in the judgment of the G-20 AMIS representatives that in light of the information available to us today, agricultural commodity markets …

The United States is providing over $81 million in additional humanitarian assistance to help those most in need in the wake of the drought gripping the Sahel region of West Africa, Nancy Lindborg, Assistant Administrator for Democracy, Conflict and Humanitarian Assistance at the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) announced in Rome today.  This new …

At the opening of the 2012 Annual Session of the World Food Programme (WFP) Executive Board on June 4th 2012, the United States announced a new $10 million contribution to the WFP. “Demonstrating our commitment in these areas,” said Karen Johnson, Chargé d’Affaires of the U.S. Mission to the UN Agencies in Rome, “we are …

The U.S. Government, through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), has announced it will provide emergency relief to assist conflict-affected and food-insecure people in South Sudan. The $30 million contribution will be delivered through the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP). The assistance is in response to the deteriorating humanitarian situation in South …

ROME – Today the UN Committee on World Food Security (CFS), headquartered in Rome and sponsored by the three Rome-based United Nations organizations – the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the World Food Program (WFP) and the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) – formally endorsed the Voluntary Guidelines on the Responsible Governance of Tenure of Land, Fisheries and Forests in the Context of National Food Security . The U.S. Government welcomes and supports the …

In 2011, the worst drought in 60 years struck the Horn of Africa.  The United Nations declared famine in six regions of Somalia, threatening the lives of over 250,000 Somalis, and requiring urgent humanitarian assistance for more than 13.3 million people in Ethiopia, Kenya and other parts of Somalia.  The international community responded and famine …

The United States is pursuing every avenue to get humanitarian relief into Syria and is engaged in focused diplomatic efforts to secure full and unfettered access for humanitarian organizations to reach those in need. The United States is providing an additional $12.2 million in humanitarian assistance to support the people of Syria, bringing the total …

The International Development Law Organization’s (IDLO) Director General Irene Khan warmly welcomed El Salvador as IDLO’s 27th Member Party, at a signing ceremony today at the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. “El Salvador’s accession to IDLO is a sign of the continued support and commitment of governments to promote good governance around the world,” said …

Late last Friday night (March 9, 2012), the UN Committee on World Food Security (CFS) Open Ended Working Group on the Voluntary Guidelines for the Responsible Governance of Tenure of Land, Fisheries, and Forests in the Context of National Food Security completed negotiations. This conclusion represents the culmination of over two years of work to …

The Peace Corps joined the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations ( FAO ) and the World Food Programme ( WFP ), and pledged to support and expand food security-related activities that will combat hunger in Peace Corps countries worldwide. Today, Peace Corps Director Aaron S. Williams, FAO Deputy Director-General for Operations Manoj Juneja (representing Director-General Jacques …

The United States government commends the United Nations Committee on Food Security (CFS) for the extraordinary work that it has done on the Voluntary Guidelines on the Responsible Governance of Tenure of Lands, Fisheries and Forests, achieving consensus on approximately seventy percent of the document during the July and October negotiations. The U.S. government has dedicated substantial resources to the negotiation process and remains …

The United States is deeply concerned by the humanitarian emergency in the Horn of Africa and today’s announcement by the United Nations that a famine is underway in parts of Somalia. The United States is the largest bilateral donor of emergency assistance to the eastern Horn of Africa. We have already responded with over $431 …

The United States Government, through the United States Agency for International Development’s (USAID) Office of U.S. Foreign Disaster Assistance (USAID/OFDA), finalized an agreement to provide the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) with $1.5 million to support the Food Security and Nutrition Analysis Unit (FSNAU) for Somalia Nancy Lindborg, the USAID Assistant Administrator for the …

As humanitarian conditions continue to deteriorate in Somalia due to severe drought and ongoing instability, the United States, Spain, New Zealand, and other multilateral donors join Brazil in providing urgent food assistance to Somalis in need. The United States has contributed $14.5 million in cash to the World Food Programme in the first “twinning” effort …

The U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (INL) contributed $2 million to the International Development Law Organization (IDLO) for an innovative legal education program in southern Sudan.  The program will develop key training institutions for legal professionals in southern Sudan, as part of the U.S. Government’s efforts to assist …

The United States Government, through the Department of State’s Bureau of Population, Refugees and Migration (PRM), contributed an additional $3.35 million to the World Food Programme (WFP) to support the WFP-run United Nations Humanitarian Air Service (UNHAS) operations in Chad ($2 million) and the Central African Republic ($750,000), as well as WFP’s Special Operation augmenting …

The United States Government, through the United States Agency for International Development’s (USAID) Office of U.S. Foreign Disaster Assistance (USAID/OFDA), finalized an agreement to provide the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) with $800,000 to respond to floods in Sri Lanka. U.S. Ambassador to the UN Agencies in Rome, Ertharin Cousin, welcomed the contribution, saying, …

The United States Government, through the United States Agency for International Development’s (USAID) Office of U.S. Foreign Disaster Assistance (USAID/OFDA), finalized an agreement to provide the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) with $650,000 for food security activities in Afghanistan. U.S. Ambassador to the UN Agencies in Rome, Ertharin Cousin, welcomed the contribution, saying, “FAO …

The United States Government, through the United States Agency for International Development’s (USAID) Office of U.S. Foreign Disaster Assistance (USAID/OFDA), finalized an agreement to provide the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) with $400,000 to respond to the ongoing food security crisis in Niger. U.S. Ambassador to the UN Agencies in Rome, Ertharin Cousin, welcomed …

The United States Agency for International Development’s Office of Food for Peace has approved a food aid contribution to the United Nations World Food Program (WFP) in the Central African Republic (CAR) in the amount of $6.5 million. The official handover ceremony of the donation took place in Bangui, CAR on April 5, 2011. The …

The United States Government, through the United States Agency for International Development’s Office of Food for Peace (FFP), contributed $12 million to support the World Food Programme’s (WFP) internally displaced persons and refugee operations in Cote d’Ivoire ($4.5 million) and Liberia ($7.5 million). In Cote d’Ivoire, WFP will address the 180-day food needs of approximately …

In response to the Libyan crisis, the United States Government, through the United States Agency for International Development’s Office of Food for Peace (FFP), has donated $10 million to support World Food Programme (WFP) emergency food operations. This contribution, which represents more than a quarter of the $39.2 million requested for the WFP’s component of …

The U.S. Mission to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Agencies (USUN) was pleased to welcome Ms. Dina Esposito, newly appointed Director of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) Office of Food for Peace, who attended her first World Food Programme (WFP) Executive Board in Rome, Italy February 14-16. Providing over $1 billion …