Statement by President Joe Biden on World Food Day
Today, we reaffirm our commitment to ending hunger and malnutrition—creating a world in which no child has to go to bed hungry, no parent has to worry about how to feed their family, and no one has to face food insecurity.
The need for action has never been greater. This year, the world is facing an unprecedented level of food insecurity and humanitarian crises, worsened by the impacts of Russia’s aggression against Ukraine on global food supplies. More than 300 million people are unable to access clean water, emergency medicine, shelter, and food without assistance. More than 100 million are forcibly displaced. And hundreds of millions more are experiencing hunger.
The United States will continue to step up and respond to this crisis. This year alone, we’ve committed over $9 billion in lifesaving humanitarian assistance to address growing needs here at home and around the world. Last month, at the White House Conference on Hunger, Nutrition, and Health, I also reaffirmed our commitment to tackling the devasting threat of hunger and diet-related disease in the United States—a threat that hits vulnerable communities hardest and is being compounded by other challenges, like COVID-19 and the climate crisis.
But food insecurity is a global challenge that requires a global solution. We must come together to support those who need it most. At the United Nations in May, the United States—joined by more than 100 other countries—launched the UN Roadmap for Global Food Security, which will strengthen global agriculture markets and meet the nutrition needs of millions. In September, the United States also convened a Global Food Security Summit on the margins of the UN General Assembly with partners around the world to renew our commitment to acting with urgency and responding with resolve to the growing food crisis.
Today, and every day, I am deeply grateful to people around the world who are doing their part to fight hunger—from holding food drives, innovating new agriculture solutions, to raising awareness of this growing challenge. We stand with you and will continue to act with urgency to get through this crisis and build a stronger, more sustainable food system for the future—the health, wellbeing, and stability of our world depends on it.
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