President Joe Biden on Wednesday will announce a series of “robust” humanitarian aid packages the United States will provide other countries aimed at shoring up food security amid complications from the COVID-19 pandemic and the war in Ukraine.
National security adviser Jake Sullivan briefed reporters Tuesday on the announcements, which will be unveiled during Biden’s address before the United Nations General Assembly.
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“We’re going to make very robust financial commitments on humanitarian assistance, significantly greater than $100 million,” Sullivan explained. “In addition, we’re going to work on financial facilities to help, so beyond just the money for humanitarian assistance, to help build agricultural systems and resilience in the developing world and Africa and Latin America and other places.”
On top of the U.S. aid packages, Biden will use his speech to call for the “elimination of export bans and of hoarding so that there is a better supply of food to the world market and overall prices come down.”
Sullivan added that Biden plans to highlight the “nexus between climate and food,” something he has repeatedly done on the global stage.
“Because the impacts of climate change on the agricultural land of many countries in many parts of the world is significant and severe, and through some combination of technology and adaptation, we believe we can help protect that land so that we can continue to get the level of food production necessary to reduce global food insecurity,” he told reporters. “He’ll speak to all of those things, both with leaders in New York and he will have a robust section of his speech devoted to global food security as well.”
The U.S. and allies brokered a deal over the summer with Russia to allow regular shipments of grain produced in the Black Sea region to continue being sent to Africa and Europe, but the Global Food Security Index report published Tuesday outlined severe, remaining deficiencies in the global food system.
Meanwhile, food prices continue to rise domestically and have overtaken energy as one of the largest inflation drivers this year.
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You can watch Tuesday’s briefing in full below.
