This report is submitted pursuant to the annual requirement from the Global Food Security Act of 2016 (P.L. 114-195), which amended Section 492 of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2292a(e)). This report describes how the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) used Fiscal Year (FY) 2021 International Disaster Assistance (IDA) and Economic Support Funds (ESF) appropriated under Section 10003(a)(3) of the American Rescue Plan Act for international disaster relief and rehabilitation, through the Emergency Food Security Program (EFSP), to address food insecurity in emergency situations using market-based approaches, including local, regional, and international procurement (LRIP), and cash and voucher assistance for food.
Purpose and Program Objectives
The USAID Bureau for Humanitarian Assistance (USAID/BHA) delivers two main types of food assistance overseas: 1) Agricultural commodities from the United States authorized in Title II of the Food for Peace Act (7 U.S.C. 1691 et seq.)2, and 2) Market-based food assistance, authorized in both the Food for Peace Act and the Foreign Assistance Act (22 U.S.C. 2151 et seq.).
USAID began supporting market-based food assistance in FY 2010 using the IDA authority of the Foreign Assistance Act (22 U.S.C. 2292). The program was formally authorized as the EFSP in the Global Food Security Act of 2016 (Section 7 of P.L. 114-195) and funding for the program was reauthorized in 2018 by the Global Food Security Reauthorization Act of 2017 (P.L. 115-266).
The Global Food Security Act states the purpose of the EFSP is “to mitigate the effects of manmade and natural disasters by utilizing innovative new approaches to delivering aid that support affected persons and the communities hosting them, build resilience and early recovery, and reduce opportunities for waste, fraud and abuse.” Congress has authorized funding for the EFSP through Fiscal Year 2023.
USAID determines which method, or “modality”, to employ in a given context using four criteria: market appropriateness, feasibility, project objectives, and cost. Market-based modalities include local, regional, and international food procurement; cash transfers for food; and food vouchers. LRIP has additional restrictions on the source and origin of commodities to ensure that USAID activities reinforce developing markets to the greatest extent possible.
In FY 2021, USAID/BHA implemented a new sector-specific data structure categorizing all humanitarian assistance funding according to sectors. For example, under the former Office of Food for Peace (FFP), all nutrition programming implemented by FFP was included in EFSP reporting but has since been recategorized under USAID/BHA as nutrition sector funding—separate from food assistance. The food assistance sector now encompasses interventions designed to alleviate hunger by providing a resource transfer (in-kind, voucher, and/or cash) in a dignified way that ensures individuals and households have adequate access to a sufficient quantity and quality of food without resorting to negative coping strategies such as selective feeding, forced or early marriages, and child labor. The nutrition sector now encompasses activities that focus on: 1. Maternal, infant, and young child nutrition; 2. Prevention and treatment of acute malnutrition, including severe acute malnutrition and moderate acute malnutrition; 3. Micronutrient deficiency prevention and control; 4. Supplemental nutrition assistance; and 5. Collection and analysis of nutrition information in humanitarian emergencies. The total funding captured in the EFSP report in FY 2020 ($4.8 billion) compared to FY 2021 ($4.3 billion) does not necessarily represent a decrease in food-related funding, but reflects a food assistance sector-specific approach to the report.
Fiscal Year (FY) 2021 Assistance
Global acute hunger continued to rise in FY 2021, as conflict and insecurity, extreme and variable weather conditions, large-scale economic crises, and the effects of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic drove acute food insecurity. An estimated 161 million people across 42 countries were experiencing acute food insecurity in 2021—a 19 percent increase compared to 2020.
Prolonged or intensifying conflicts were the primary drivers of the most significant food security crises in 2021. The combination of violence and insecurity generated widespread displacement, undermined livelihoods, and disrupted access to markets and basic services. USAID continued to provide large-scale emergency food assistance to respond to these crises, including addressing ongoing needs resulting from protracted conflicts in countries such as South Sudan, Syria, and Yemen, as well as heightened needs arising from evolving conflict dynamics in Afghanistan and northern Ethiopia. Conflicts and violence also contributed to growing displacement, with an estimated 20.8 million refugees worldwide by mid-2021. USAID remained the world’s largest provider of emergency food assistance to refugees, helping millions of refugees in 28 countries meet basic food needs. Meanwhile, the effects of extreme and erratic weather compounded food insecurity in several regions during FY 2021. In southern Madagascar, severe drought significantly limited agricultural production and contributed to a growing humanitarian crisis, while in Central America, multiple years of drought followed by consecutive storms in late 2020 exacerbated food insecurity in El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras.
As the pandemic entered its second year, the impacts of COVID-19 continued to aggravate economic and food security conditions, especially in countries already experiencing conflict, fragile economies, or other shocks. Worldwide disruptions in supply chains increased prices and reduced the availability and affordability of food and other goods, while movement restrictions and other mitigation measures limited access to markets and services and restricted livelihood activities. In FY 2021, USAID continued to work with partners to adapt and contextualize existing food assistance programs to fit local needs, while also expanding investments in emergency food assistance and livelihood interventions to alleviate severe food security impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.
In FY 2021, USAID provided nearly $2.5 billion in EFSP assistance reaching nearly 44 million people in 55 countries. Combined with Title II and Community Development Funds (appropriated as Development Assistance funds), USAID reached more than 71 million people in 57 countries with a total of approximately $4.8 billion in food assistance and related activities. LRIP accounted for more than 45 percent of EFSP programming in FY 2021. Food vouchers accounted for 29 percent, cash transfers accounted for nearly 25 percent, and funding for essential complementary activities and other related activities accounted for the remaining one percent of FY 2021 programming. For additional details on ESFP modalities, see Appendix A. For a detailed list of all country specific EFSP activities for FY 2021, see Appendix B.
