Initiative to End Hunger in Africa (IEHA)
The cycle of hunger in sub-Saharan Africa begins and ends with poverty-the inability to grow or purchase food causes malnutrition and poor health, which in turn leads to the inability to earn income and to deeper poverty. It is estimated that one in three people in Africa are currently undernourished. To break this cycle, African leaders have recognized that increased economic growth, driven by agriculture, is essential.
Launched in 2002, the Presidential Initiative to End Hunger in Africa (IEHA) is a multi-year effort designed to help increase agricultural income and fulfill the United Nations' Millennium Development Goal of cutting the number of hungry people in Africa in half by 2015. This initiative focuses on promoting agricultural growth and building an African-led partnership to cut hunger and poverty by investing in agriculture oriented towards toward small-scale farmers.
Global Partnerships
IEHA builds economic governance and global partnerships that can effectively create the conditions for agriculture to flourish by working with African governments, regional organizations, multilateral development institutions, the private sector, universities, and other nongovernmental organizations. USAID is working to develop programs and policies that open up markets to agricultural trade, improve infrastructure, support small-scale farmers, provide safety nets to the most vulnerable groups, and exploit technological advances. USAID is also working with the African Union's New Partnership for Africa's Development (AU/NEP) and donor partners to address the policy and technical barriers that are making countries famine prone. All of these efforts are aligned with and directly support the AU/NEPAD Comprehensive African Agriculture Development Program.
Science and Technology
Science and technology are key to providing innovations that increase agricultural productivity while reducing vulnerabilities and risks. The essence of the IEHA science and technology strategy is to encourage partnerships among U.S. universities, international researchers, and African researchers that invest in agricultural research, institutions, networking, and training. This will accelerate the development of science-based solutions for African farmers' problems.
Linking Producers to Markets
USAID assists governments and regional organizations and helps build the capacity of private sector organizations to create a supportive environment for the marketing and trade of agricultural products through programs that, among other things, develop agricultural markets for crops, seeds, and fertilizers, and build physical infrastructure, such as rural roads, necessary for market access.
Reaching Out to the Vulnerable
USAID's Africa Bureau and the Bureau for Democracy, Conflict, and Humanitarian Assistance, through IEHA, are working with its international donor partners, governments, private sector, and local NGOs to break the cycle of famine by supporting sustainable agriculture programs that protect and build assets, develop integrated nutrition strategies and implement community-based nutrition programs, help countries to analyze the impact of HIV/AIDS on agriculture, and reduce the vulnerability of the poor to drought or floods, market crashes, or conflict.
IEHA currently supports efforts in Ghana, Kenya, Mali, Mozambique, Uganda, and Zambia and three regional programs in east, west, and southern Africa.
Through sustained investments in agriculture- based programs that are carried out in conjunction with programs to improve health, education, infrastructure, environment, and public policy management, USAID is introducing political and technical options for reversing the trends of hunger and poverty in Africa.
Some of the Successes of the Program from 2006 include;
- Over nine million rural individuals have received direct benefit
- More than one million vulnerable households directly benefited
- More than 8000 producer, water user, and trade associations received technical assistance to strengthen their organizations
- Over 900 public and private partnerships were formed
- Trade in selected commodities has increased by 57 percent since 2001 in East Africa
- Dozens of new technologies have been adopted by farmers
- 358,000 men and 191,000 women have received training in a broad range of topics, including biotech safety, market analyses, record keeping, quality control, and post harvest handling
- IEHA Title II programs improved agricultural productivity, reducing food insecurity and the need for food aid. Targeted populations in Mozambique saw decreases in stunting among children younger than 5, from 59.2 percent at baseline to 48.5 percent in 2006. In addition, the number of months of household food shortage decreased from 2.4 to 1.4
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