USAID’s Samantha Power discusses global food security amid the Ukraine crisis

Judy Woodruff:

The war in Ukraine has exacerbated a global food crisis.

The United Nations says more than 800 million people go to bed hungry every night. A recent U.N.-brokered deal with Russia and Ukraine to allow Ukrainian grain to leave the Black Sea offering some relief, but the problem goes well beyond that.

Nick Schifrin has more with one of the administration's most senior officials, who's trying to tackle a worldwide challenge.

Nick Schifrin:

The U.S. says 40 million people have become hungry since Russia invaded Ukraine.

The war has combined with COVID, rising food prices and the worst drought in 100 years in East Africa. A Senegalese minister recently warned more people could die from the food crisis than died from COVID.

Among the most acutely affected, Afghanistan, where 20 million people, more than half the country, are experiencing high levels of acute food insecurity, Yemen, where 19 million are food-insecure, and the Horn of Africa, where the U.N. says 37 million people suffer from acute hunger.

That is where USAID Administrator Samantha Power recently visited to give a major speech about food insecurity.

And she joins us here in the studio at "NewsHour."

Samantha Power, welcome back to the "NewsHour."

Samantha Power, USAID Administrator:

Good to be here.

Nick Schifrin:

Let's start in Ukraine.

Ukraine and Russia, as we just said, there's a new deal to allow Ukraine to export once again. Ukraine and Russia combined make up a quarter of the world's wheat exports. How big of a difference will that new U.N.-brokered deal make?

Samantha Power:

Well, already, even since the deal was brokered, you saw an impact on global wheat prices.

I mean, that's, I think, how significant it can be. But that was on the basis of the aspiration for the deal to stick, for implementation to go forward, for the ships to start to move.

We have seen one ship so far, as you know, 26,000 metric tons of corn on that ship, heading to Lebanon, a place that is massively food-insecure, a place that gets more than 80 percent of its wheat from Ukraine. So, that's very significant. That's 26,000 metric tons that would not otherwise have gone to Lebanon if Putin had stuck to the blockade in the way that he had been.

But it's one ship. And Ukraine used to put into the global market before the war six million metric tons a month. So we have 26,000 metric tons, very important, can't discount every part of that. But it gives you a sense of what the throughput needs to become if you're going to get close to that six million metric tons and really start to see the impact on global food prices and the reach of Ukrainian sunflower oil, wheat, barley and corn.

Nick Schifrin:

There are no U.S. sanctions on Russian exports of fertilizer or food. But there are U.S. sanctions on the transportation companies that would take that Russian grain out, insurance companies that would protect that grain and the Russian banks into which people would pay for that grain.

Do you acknowledge that, at least a little bit, U.S. sanctions have contributed to the increase in the global food crisis?

Samantha Power:

What has caused the massive spike in food prices that we have seen since February 24 is Russia's invasion of Ukraine and this completely willful blockade.

I mean, all that had to happen is actually a security guarantee for any ship that was flowing. Then you would have seen the insurance rates reflective of security guarantees. Instead, even in the wake of this deal, you see Russia actually bombarding Odessa, which then, of course, has a massive chilling effect on insurers.

So I think that's really where the focus should be. In additional, you have seen the Russian foreign minister travel, for example, recently since my trip to sub-Saharan Africa. And it's just disappointing. There's an awful lot about who's to blame for global food prices, but not a lot, not any, in fact, that anybody can see, any assistance.

It's words, misinformation lies, but no actual support to countries like those in the Horn of Africa that are facing this incredible hour of need.

Nick Schifrin:

So let's move to East Africa.

Some of the largest buyers of Ukrainian and Russian wheat are in East Africa, where, as we said, tens of millions of people currently suffering from various levels of hunger. Food prices have risen dramatically. There's historic drought. You went to Kenya and Somalia and announced $1.2 billion in assistance.

In some ways, is that a drop in the bucket for what's needed?

Samantha Power:

Well, it's a lot of money, and it's going to buy a lot of food and a lot of assistance.

Prior to the trip, I also announced an unprecedented investment in so-called RUTF, the therapeutic food — feeding — the therapeutic food and pouches, packets, for very, very malnourished, acutely malnourished very small children under 5. And that's the largest investment in RUTF that has been made.

But, also, we're doing a fund-raising drive to get others to match that.

Nick Schifrin:

Because others do have to step up.

Samantha Power:

And it is the rare form of food assistance where, if young under-5 children do receive these pouches, 90 percent of them will die if they're severely malnourished, but if they get those food pouches, 90 percent of them will survive.

So, for anybody who wants to contribute, UNICEF is managing this effort. It is incredibly important. So, this assistance is key. It's key in its own right, as I have said, but it's also key as a marker for other countries, because we need other countries to do, frankly, what they did the last time the Horn of Africa faced a less severe drought back in 2016-2017, which is to step up.

And, right now, the United States is accounting for more than 80 percent of the World Food Program appeal. That's not sustainable. It's not sustainable to the taxpayer here. And we have had major bipartisan support for this effort to meet food needs.

But it's also not sustainable because no one country can sustain funding for appeals that are going to be this significant. So, I — the scene is grim, Nick. And it's — it's — we're seeing just the precursors to what lies ahead.

So I met with pastoralists, who traditionally are herding their goats and their cows, and even their camels, which are very resilient in tough climates. And many of them might have had 500 goats and cows or sheep even six months ago. Gone. Not one.

And so, suddenly, their livelihood is gone. But, also, their fallback, their emergency reserve, right, is the actual food itself, the animals themselves. And they don't — there's — there are suicides among these individuals.

But, above all, there is severe hunger. And so we have to combine the emergency food assistance with the recognition that climate change isn't going anywhere. It's only going to get worse in terms of the shocks. So, for individuals like that, who are dependent on livestock getting access to feed, but also to water, there are going to have to be alternative pathways for them as well in the long term.

And that's what USAID really specializes in, is food security resilience in the long term. And there again, Congress has stepped up and given us more resources to invest in drought-resistant seeds, drip irrigation, the kinds of things that can withstand some of these conditions.

But other countries just aren't in that effort in the way that we need them to be.

Nick Schifrin:

One country that is showing up though, in Africa, as you mentioned, is Russia.

Sergey Lavrov, the foreign minister of Russia, just did a visit. The U.S. is the largest donor across the board when it comes to this stuff, but nearly half of the African countries voted not to condemn Russia's invasion of Ukraine earlier this year.

Do you acknowledge, in some ways, your assistance doesn't match your influence?

Samantha Power:

Well, I think the U.S. has tremendous influence across sub-Saharan Africa. And I will say that, because the U.S. is the country that shows up first, just a year-plus ago with vaccines to help vaccinate those in sub-Saharan Africa who wish to be vaccinated, then so soon the heels of providing, again, PPE, diagnostics, everything, and then the vaccines, so soon after that, to be showing up in this way, leading the world in providing food security assistance to build resilience, and also the humanitarian emergency food and health aid, I mean, it is overwhelming that show of leadership right now.

Nick Schifrin:

But Russia is, for example, offering a permanent seat on the U.N. Security Council. I mean, it says that it is.

Samantha Power:

Right. Where has Russia been for the nearly 80-year history of the United Nations in opposing Security Council reform?

But putting that to one side, I think what is clear is that some of the voices that made the biggest difference in actually bringing about the U.N.- and Turkish-brokered deal to let the grains go, as we say, to end Putin's blockade and his, in a sense, war on food and war on the poor around the world, it was actually African voices, developing country voices that made a difference.

So, whatever they're doing in public, whatever their fears are about Russian retaliation…

Nick Schifrin:

Yes.

Samantha Power:

… because there's a lot of intimidation that occurs when a U.N. vote is about to happen — there's also a lot of inducement and bribery that goes on.

But, in the end, those appeals behind the scenes, that pressure from those countries has gotten us to this point and needs to be sustained.

Nick Schifrin:

Can I just ask about Afghanistan? And, unfortunately, I only have about 30 seconds, so just very quickly.

Half the population experiencing acute food insecurity. WFP says that, actually, the number of donations is going down. The price of food is going up, to the point where only 8 percent of the country will soon receive food rations.

Again, just 30 seconds. I'm sorry. Can the U.S. do more to help the people of Afghanistan?

Samantha Power:

Well, we're the largest humanitarian donor by far since the fall of Kabul. We have provided more than $500 million in assistance in Afghanistan, humanitarian assistance.

This is another area where we need untraditional donors, for example, those from the Gulf and elsewhere, who might have even ties with the Taliban regime that, of course, we do not, to step up and to join us in providing assistance.

Nick Schifrin:

USAID Administrator Samantha Power, we got to end it there. Thank you so much.

Samantha Power:

Thank you.