2007.02.09: February 9, 2007: Headlines: Directors - Vasquez: United Nations: Diplomacy: Hunger: ReliefWeb: Gaddi Vasquez, US Ambassador to FAO, says that food aid is only one of many tools that could be used to tackle hunger
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2007.02.09: February 9, 2007: Headlines: Directors - Vasquez: United Nations: Diplomacy: Hunger: ReliefWeb: Gaddi Vasquez, US Ambassador to FAO, says that food aid is only one of many tools that could be used to tackle hunger
Gaddi Vasquez, US Ambassador to FAO, says that food aid is only one of many tools that could be used to tackle hunger
Vasquez said his government supported the report's call for renewed efforts to improve the management and governance of food aid. In reference to the FAO's suggestion that cash transfer and food coupons were a better option, he said his country was "keenly interested in improving the effectiveness, efficiency and flexibility of food aid. However, the primary rationale for providing food for reducing food insecurity should be humanitarian rather than economic." Former Peace Corps Director Gaddi H. Vasquez is U.S. ambassador to U.N. food agencies based in Rome.
Gaddi Vasquez, US Ambassador to FAO, says that food aid is only one of many tools that could be used to tackle hunger
Southern Africa: FAO calls for a better way of feeding the millions
JOHANNESBURG, 9 February2007 (IRIN) - The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) has suggested major reforms in the way food aid is managed and distributed in its annual report.
"In many cases, food aid is used because it is the only available resource, not because it is the best solution to the problem at hand. Increased and more flexible resources are needed to address food insecurity," said Jacques Diouf, Director-General of the FAO.
Food aid should not be linked, either explicitly or implicitly, to commercial transactions or services in the donor country, the report proposed, reiterating what most development agencies, such as Oxfam, have been saying for years.
The 2006 'State of Food and Agriculture (SOFA)' report, released in January, recommended that aid be provided in the form of cash or food coupons rather than food-aid shipments, which can affect producers and markets in recipient countries and distort international trade.
[Excerpt]
Gaddi Vasquez, US Ambassador to FAO, concurred in a statement that food aid was only one of many tools that could be used to tackle hunger, and said his government supported the report's call for renewed efforts to improve the management and governance of food aid. In reference to the FAO's suggestion that cash transfer and food coupons were a better option, he said his country was "keenly interested in improving the effectiveness, efficiency and flexibility of food aid. However, the primary rationale for providing food for reducing food insecurity should be humanitarian rather than economic."
He said the US had over 50 years of experience of food aid, and reaffirmed the "belief that those who require donor assistance would rather have 'good' assistance made available on a timely basis, than have 'theoretically better' assistance that never arrives." Vasquez did not comment on the correlation between surpluses, global food prices and the flow of aid.
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Headlines: February, 2007; Gaddi Vasquez; Gaddi Vasquez (Director 2002 - 2006); United Nations; Diplomacy; Hunger
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Story Source: ReliefWeb
This story has been posted in the following forums: : Headlines; Directors - Vasquez; United Nations; Diplomacy; Hunger
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