USAID Administrator Shah’s Remarks at Senator Chris Coons’ Africa Conference

In Kenya, we are partnering with Swiss Re—an industry leader in risk management solutions—to pilot an index-based livestock insurance program for pastoralists. This past October—at the height of the drought—insurance payments were made to over 600 pastoralists who had purchased coverage for their animals earlier in the year.

In Ethiopia, 7.5 million people have been able to withstand the worst effects of the drought without the need for humanitarian assistance thanks to government safety net programs we help support.

And across the Horn, we’re aggressively pursuing public health interventions, like immunizations and therapeutic feeding. We’ve learned from previous famines that the leading killer isn’t hunger; it’s preventable disease. To date, we have vaccinated over 1.5 million children in the Horn against polio and measles to help protect these children both now and in the future. We have even provided them with the newest vaccines against diseases that cause pneumonia and diarrhea-thanks to the leadership and commitment of the Obama Administration.

And through Feed the Future—our major presidential development initiative on food security—we’re driving the kind of investments in agricultural development that will ensure countries escape devastating cycle of famine and food aid. All told, Feed the Future will help countries sustainably develop their agricultural infrastructure, diversify their economies, and ultimately lift 18 million people out of hunger and poverty—more than 7 million of whom are children.

To raise awareness about the crisis—and the potential for long-term solutions through Feed the Future—we launched a public awareness campaign called F-W-D or Forward. FWD stands for famine, war and drought-but it also stands for our call to action.