Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, January 1, 1993 TAG: 9301040272
SECTION: EDITORIAL PAGE: A-9 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: TRISH FREED
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
FEED THE HUNGRY
PUT PEOPLE first. It got Bill Clinton elected, and maybe it can save a few million lives. President-elect Clinton has made clear his domestic policies, but what shape will his foreign policies take?I hope he will continue to put people first by using the final years of this century to eliminate the worst aspects of hunger and poverty.
Hunger is not only morally wrong, but politically wrong as well. One billion of the world's people live in absolute poverty - the majority are children. Malnutrition is rampant, and there are many deaths (UNICEF estimates 40,000 a day) from preventable diseases such as measles, pneumonia, and dehydration caused by diarrhea.
I believe global peace and stability cannot be built on a foundation of pain and deprivation. This same consensus was reached by the 159 world leaders present at the 1990 World Summit for Children.
They developed a window of opportunity by developing goals that will shape the future of foreign assistance through the year 2000. The goals measure the success of humanitarian aid by the number of women and children's lives saved; by the number of children, especially girls, able to finish school; and by the access of the poor to clean drinking water and safe sanitation.
One way to work toward these goals is to appoint leaders who share the vision of eradicating hunger and poverty.
James Grant, the executive director of UNICEF, is such a leader of vision. He was the voice calling most strongly for the world summit. Under his direction, UNICEF helped to increase the immunization of the world's children from 10 percent to 80 percent, saving 3 million lives a year.
The Clinton administration could maintain such outstanding leadership by breaking tradition and appointing Grant to an unprecedented fourth term with UNICEF at the end of his term in 1994. If this proves impossible, why not have him head the U.S. Agency for International Development?
Other excellent candidates for USAID leadership include Bill Foege, the head of the Carter Center and former director of the Centers for Disease Control; U.S. Rep. Tony Hall of Ohio, chairman of the House Select Committee on Hunger; and U.S. Rep. Matthew McHugh of New York, an active voice for humanitarian aid over military assistance and sponsor of the WSC Implementation Act.
In past years, USAID has been dubbed an agency that has lost its way. The agency desperately needs the refocusing that could be provided by Grant, Hall, McHugh or Foege. Its refocusing would be invaluable when it addresses foreign-aid issues, as well as when it seeks to find its place in the world of humanitarian aid.
Clinton has made a commitment to put people first. His vision has been somewhat limited to domestic issues, but that will soon change. His ideas, the right leaders' commitment, and Americans' continued interest in and support of programs designed to eliminate hunger and poverty are essential. Let's make the most of this window of opportunity and save a few million lives.
Trish Freed, a registered dietitian and a certified nutrition-support dietitian, works for the Cancer Center of Southwest Virginia.