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Exchanging People for Money: Remittances and Repatriation in Central America

July 31, 2012 Comments off

Exchanging People for Money: Remittances and Repatriation in Central America (PDF)
Source: Bread for the World Institute

Immigrants from Guatemala, El Salvador, and Honduras sent home more than $10 billion in remittances in 2011— almost all of it from the United States. Remittances comprised 17 percent of GDP in Honduras, 16 percent in El Salvador, and 10 percent in Guatemala and they dwarf both foreign direct investment and overseas development assistance. Remittances reduce poverty and help millions of families that receive them obtain food, clothing, education, housing, and health care, but they can also create dependence on the diaspora. Their greatest potential— fueling productive investment that generates jobs and income and reduces immigration pressure—is often untapped. In addition to the flow of money back to Central America, in recent years the number of immigrants returning from the United States to their home countries has increased. During fiscal year 2011, the United States deported a record 396,906 unauthorized immigrants, including more than 76,000 Central Americans. Central American governments are unprepared for these returned migrants. Many deportees end up re-migrating to the United States because of the lack of opportunities in their native countries.

Categories: Bread for the World Institute, business and economics, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, immigration, international relations, labor

From L’Aquila to Camp David: Sustaining the Momentum on Global Food and Nutrition Security

May 23, 2012 Comments off

From L’Aquila to Camp David: Sustaining the Momentum on Global Food and Nutrition Security (PDF)
Source:
Key Points

  • U.S. leadership on global hunger and food security has been instrumental in leveraging substantial additional resources and reversing decades
    of decline in funding for agricultural development.

  • The 2012 G-8 Summit at Camp David is an important opportunity for President Obama and other G-8 leaders to take stock of the progress made by the 2009 G-8 Summit’s L’Aquila Food Security Initiative (AFSI) and reaffirm their commitment to improve smallholder agriculture.
  • Since 2009, the United States has also helped raise awareness of the urgency of improving nutrition in the critical 1,000 Day window between pregnancy and age 2. G-8 leaders should endorse the Scaling Up Nutrition movement, commit to a bold nutrition target to mobilize action, and ensure that investments in agriculture are improving maternal and child nutrition.
  • Building on the foundation laid by AFSI, future investments should also focus on building resilience in communities; strengthening local capacity to address chronic food insecurity and respond to crises; mainstreaming gender; and adapting to climate change.
  • Moving forward, it is critical that there is greater transparency around commitments and investments.
Categories: Bread for the World Institute, food and agriculture, government and politics, hunger and malnutrition, international relations

Effective Development Assistance: Now is the Time

May 20, 2012 Comments off

Effective Development Assistance: Now is the Time (PDF)
Source:  Bread for the World Institute

Bread for the World and other organizations working to end global hunger frequently talk about development assistance and how it can help hungry people overseas. But what exactly is development assistance? And why should we support funding for it when many Americans are facing hard times?
Categories: Bread for the World Institute, business and economics, hunger and malnutrition, international relations, poverty

Enabling and Equipping Women to Improve Nutrition

April 4, 2012 Comments off
Source:  Bread for the World Institute
Malnutrition during the 1,000 days between pregnancy and a child’s second birthday has irreversible physical, cognitive, and health consequences, reducing a person’s lifetime earning potential. For many countries with high rates of hunger and malnutrition, the low status of women is a primary cause. Women often have less education, lower economic status, and limited decisionmaking power in the household and community—all of which contribute to poorer nutrition.

See also: Improving Food Aid to Improve Maternal and Child Nutrition (PDF)

Categories: Bread for the World Institute, business and economics, children and families, hunger and malnutrition, poverty, social and cultural issues

2012 Hunger Report — Rebalancing Act: Updating U.S. Food and Farm Policies

March 30, 2012 Comments off

2012 Hunger Report — Rebalancing Act: Updating U.S. Food and Farm PoliciesSource: Bread for Food Institute
From press release:

A new report released today by Bread for the World Institute calls for more determined thinking about how U.S. food and farm policies can meet the challenges of the 21st century.

The report proposes a rebalancing of farm policies to improve efficiency, encourage production and distribution of healthy foods, support rural development, and help farmers manage risk more efficiently.

“Congress has a great opportunity to trim our federal deficit and fix our broken food system,” said Rev. David Beckmann, president of Bread for the World Institute. “Tomorrow the congressional Super Committee will report on how it plans to save taxpayer dollars. Today we are offering a solution that will not only save money but save our country’s small farmers.”

The new report, Hunger Report 2012: Rebalancing Act: Updating U.S. Food and Farm Policies, calls for a shift from the current patchwork of farm subsidies to a comprehensive revenue insurance program. A well-designed plan would better meet the needs of farmers, reach more farmers, provide a healthy food supply for all, be less trade-distorting, help the environment, and save taxpayer dollars.At a time when so many families depend on food assistance, the report calls for protecting SNAP benefits.

Categories: Bread for the World Institute, food and agriculture, government and politics, hunger and malnutrition
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