Secretary of State Anthony Blinken is working toward the U.S. government’s commitment to doing all it can to find solutions to the world’s growing food insecurity issues.
Blinken met to Kenyan Cabinet Secretary for Foreign Affairs Raychelle Omamo to discuss the impact of rising global food insecurity on Africa, according to a May 26 Department of State readout. The discussion came on the heels of the Global Food Security Call to Action Ministerial, which was hosted by the Biden administration in New York earlier in the month.
"Secretary Blinken spoke yesterday with Kenyan Cabinet Secretary Raychelle Omamo to continue finding durable solutions to the global food crisis after the Global Food Security Call to Action Ministerial in New York last week,” Ned Price, U.S. Department of State spokesperson, said May 26 on Twitter. “We are in this together."
During the gathering, Blinken announced the U.S. plans to provide an additional $215 million in emergency food assistance, according to a transcript of his remarks. Just three months earlier, the government contributed $2.3 billion in humanitarian food aid.
In Blinken's remarks, he stressed the global food crisis has only worsened in the wake of the Russian federation recently moving to block Ukrainian ports and stifle agricultural exports. By turning to such tactics, he added the Russian government has forced about 20 million tons of grain to remain unused in Ukrainian silos.
During a separate meeting with foreign ministers from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Egypt, Gabon, Ghana, Kenya, Mauritania, Nigeria, South Africa, Zambia and Senegal, Blinken directly pointed to the dire food situation in Africa, holding up statistics from the U.S Agency for International Development that shows 32 of the 39 countries facing the greatest risk from the ongoing food crisis are now in Africa.
Blinken added the U.S. plans to continue to invest in the Feed the Future Program, pledging U.S support of more than $5 billion over the next three years with the primary aim focused on expanding into new countries in Africa.
