Posted by Ertharin Cousin on Feb 05, 2010 - 12:08 PM
![A girl receives water and food at a U.N. distribution center in Haiti, Jan. 24, 2010. [AP Photo]](http://blogs.state.gov/images/Dipnote/behind_the_scenes/2010_02_05_Haiti_Food_Distribution_m.jpg)
About the Author: Ambassador Ertharin Cousin serves as the U.S. Representative to the United Nations Agencies for Food and Agriculture.
Every day we get a little bit better at providing emergency food relief to more Haitian families. The United States leads this effort by being the largest contributor to the World Food Programme with 4 million ready to eat meals and more than $78 million. These efforts are succeeding in feeding more than 120,000 families per day directly from our distribution centers, not to mention efforts that are occurring outside of Port-au-Prince that have reached more than 250,000 people. Day by day progress is made.
The United States has learned through its history of providing emergency food relief that focusing on women when we are distributing food and supplies, achieves the best results in terms of reaching the intended neighborhoods. As the U.S. Agency for International Development Administrator has noted, by providing coupons to women, the lines "have been orderly, distributions have been calm, and there has been a sense of hopefulness" emerging. We know we will be able to continue to reach more Haitians in the weeks ahead as relationships with partners on the ground solidify and avenues for delivery open up.
The Government of Haiti recognizes that the road to sustainable food security requires many partners. As daily requirements scream for immediate official attention, so too does the need for an agricultural development plan that will be able to address hunger and nutrition in Haiti for the foreseeable future. For this reason, on February 12, the one month anniversary of the devastating earthquake in Haiti, we will stand by the U.N. Food Agencies and welcome Haitian Agriculture Minister Joanas Gue to Rome, where we will role up our sleeves to address the role of donor participation in the planning and implementation process for food security in the Haiti Redevelopment Plan. I invite you to join us online as the event will be streamed live, www.wfp.org, 8 a.m. (EST).