Tag Archives: East Africa food crisis

What our nation’s top leaders have to say – My notes from the FWD campaign live stream

Yesterday I tuned in to the official launch of the FWD (Famine. War. Drought.) campaign following the White House live streamed video web chat. As a representative of World Vision but also as a private citizen, I was interested in what some of our nation’s top officials had to say about the U.S. response to some of the greatest crises yet in the 21st century. I captured some highlights from the discussion to share with you, and have noted the minute mark for many of the questions asked. This is not an exact transcription, but a paraphrased overview. The state of play in the Horn of Africa: — Gayle Smith, Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director of the...
Read more 1 Comment

Q & A with USAID’s Raj Shah on the Horn of Africa and foreign assistance

On Tuesday, Dr. Raj Shah, administrator for the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), visited World Vision’s U.S. headquarters in Federal Way, Washington, to talk to our staff about faith and global development. After his speech — which included a call for Americans and the American church community to continue supporting the United States as a leader in bringing relief to those suffering from poverty around the globe — I had the great privilege of talking to Dr. Shah for a little more in-depth Q & A. Here is the transcript of our conversation: JAMES: Did Horn of Africa governments respond quickly enough to early warnings [of the food crisis and famine]? DR. SHAH: It’s important to put this in...
Read more No comments

Answers from a food aid expert (Part 2)

This is the second of a 2-part series of responses to questions you asked us about food aid — its complexities, and its implications on economic development and child health — in advance of World Food Day, which was Sunday. Paul Macek, World Vision’s senior director of food security and livelihoods team, continues answering your questions below. Read the post that started this: Ask an expert about food aid. Then, check out the first installment in this series: Answers from a food aid expert (Part 1). FROM KARIN: I was wondering what happens after a child is nourished with Plumpy’Nut™ and no longer needs it. What happens next to prevent that child from slipping back into severe malnutrition?  As you’ve...
Read more No comments

World Food Day in a time of famine (Blog Action Day)

World Vision New Zealand’s nutrition specialist Briony Stevens has just returned from East Africa. She blogs about her experience as part of today’s Blog Action Day, dedicated this year to discussion on the topic of food given that today is also World Food Day. *    *    * World Food Day seems such a bizarre concept when you’re standing in an over-crowded refugee camp in East Africa where there is a distinct lack of anything edible. When you’re measuring the circumference of a child’s upper arm as a means of determining how malnourished they are. When you watch a mother continue to clutch her baby to her, long after he or she has passed away....
Read more No comments

What disaster? 4 global crises that deserve more attention…

Today is a day of observance mostly unknown to people outside of the international relief and development world — the International Day for Disaster Reduction. But with the American media largely preoccupied with the goings-on of our dysfunctional political environment, I’m taking the opportunity to commemorate this day you’ve likely never heard of by talking about four disasters you’ve probably not heard too much about. These disasters impact vulnerable children and families, and they deserve more attention....
Read more 8 Comments