Bread for the World is challenging Americans to end world hunger through a new letter campaign it has developed for 2003.
Bread for the World’s Offering of Letters campaign, “Rise to the Challenge: End World Hunger,” offers a handbook, poster and short video to help Americans solicit Congress for their support of legislation aimed at battling hunger.
“In March 2002, President Bush proposed a dramatic increase in the U.S. foreign assistance budget,” read the Bread for the World Web site. “When fully implemented, it would double the United States’ poverty-focused development assistance. This means an additional $5 billion per year for programs that help hungry and poor people become self-sufficient—money for nutrition, health care, education, and clean drinking water.”
When fully implemented, Bread for the World wrote, this “Millennium Challenge Account would double U.S. poverty-focused development.”
But the programs depend on votes from Congress in order to be implemented.
Bread for the World’s letter campaign hopes to urge Congress to include some key components in the legislation:
- Only the world’s poorest countries should receive assistance from the MCA.
- MCA funding should be directly linked to achieving the Millennium Development Goals in the countries that receive assistance.
- Countries must use MCA funds to increase spending in such areas as health, education, nutrition, clean water, sanitation, agriculture, small business development and infrastructure.
- MCA assistance should support national poverty reduction and develop strategies with broad-based citizen participation.
- MCA assistance should strictly be used for poverty reduction.
- MCA funding in the U.S. federal budget should be distinct from and in addition to current funding for other development assistance programs.
- MCA assistance should be coordinated with the development assistance programs of other countries.
To learn more about the letter campaign, visit Bread for the World’s Web site.
Jodi Mathews is BCE’s communications director.
