Washington, DC -- Representatives Gregory W. Meeks, Ranking Member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, and Angie Craig, Ranking Member of the House Committee on Agriculture, sent a letter to Secretary of State Marco Rubio raising the alarm on the State Department’s reported plans to phase out U.S. support for the Famine Early Warning Systems Network (FEWS NET). The program was created in 1985 to better detect early signs of developing food security crises with evidence-based early warning information and analysis.

Co-signers of the letter are Representatives Sara Jacobs, Ranking Member of the Africa Subcommittee, and Shontel M. Brown, Vice Ranking Member of the Committee on Agriculture.

A PDF copy of the full letter can be found here.

“We strongly urge you to continue supporting this vital program at current levels. Phasing out FEWS NET will place millions of lives at risk, as both the U.S. Government and humanitarian organizations lose access to timely, evidence-based analysis of looming food crises.

“FEWS NET is a critical resource for the United States Government, humanitarian stakeholders, and broader public. This program—first started during the Reagan Administration—provides a reliable means of anticipating future food crises long before they occur, granting humanitarian organizations and donors sufficient time to surge food to emerging hunger hotspots. This anticipatory action is critical to preventing food crises from further deteriorating, helping save lives and lowering the cost of emergency relief activities. FEWS NET also provides the U.S. Government critical information on the downstream effects of food crises, such as heightened risk of conflict or market volatility. Phasing out of U.S. support for FEWS NET will potentially leave U.S. policymakers operating at an information deficit, less able to respond to critical threats to international peace and stability...” 

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