U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) is one of the organizations that are striving to end global hunger. USAID is a US humanitarian agency that leads in the international development and humanitarian efforts. The mission of USAID is to drive the US government and American people in international development and disaster assistance through partnership and collaboration to save lives, reduce poverty, enhance democratic governance, and to provide assistance during humanitarian crises. At the same time, the primary purpose of USAID is to support partners to become self-reliant and be in the position to lead their development journey by reducing the spread of pandemic diseases, counteracting violence, and it stands with people in times of disasters such as hunger and breakdown of diseases. Haiti is one of the developing countries that are leading regarding the number of people who are suffering from chronic hunger (USAID, 2018). Therefore, by assisting in reducing hunger in Haiti, USAID will be working towards achieving its missions and purposes of reducing poverty while at the same time providing capacity for Haitians to be self-reliant and lead their development journeys.
Haiti is one of the Caribbean countries with the population of about 10.85 million people. Despite having lower population compared to many countries in the world, Haiti is one of the developing nations that are leading in terms of hunger rate. According to the report that was released by UN World Food Program (WFP), about 1.5 million Haitians are suffering from chronic hunger, as more than 75% of the country's population lives in less than $2 a day. Consequently, about 60% of all deaths in Haiti are caused by malnutrition or hunger. Therefore, hunger is the main problem currently facing Haitians (WFP, 2018).
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WFP officials explain that hunger in Haiti is mainly caused by series of natural disasters such as storms, flooding, drought, and landslide, including earthquakes that leave millions of people in dire need of food assistance. Poor distribution and accessibility of food is also a challenge that is accelerating the rate of hunger in the country. Inadequate food distribution policies are preventing many people from accessing relief food from various local and international humanitarian agencies. Consequently, many hungry people in the country are not able to access food. Besides, bureaucracy is preventing people from accessing food aids. Many aid agencies are providing food assistance to Haitians but the rate of hunger is yet to decline due to inaccessibility, which is linked to inefficient distribution systems (WFP, 2018).
Therefore, electronic food card that is also known as E-Card is one of the best technologies that can be used that can be used to solve the hunger problem in Haiti. WFP developed e-card as the best alternative to the traditional means of purchasing food from local markets (Karim, 2014). The technology is used by food donation agencies to transfer money to e-cards to enable hungry people to buy food without depending on government agents. The technology is delivered and redeemed via cell phone.
According to Karim (2014), E-Card can address the cause of hunger in Haiti in different ways. First, the technology will increase efficiency in food distribution by enhancing the accessibility of food that is available in the market. Traditional food assistance techniques make it hard for people in need to access food in the market, especially during a crisis. E-Card, on the other hand, increases accessibility of food. Secondly, the technology will reduce the cost of food by eliminating the cost incurred in transporting, distributing, and storing food. Thirdly, E-Card will increase transparency in the distribution of food aid, as it helps in recording and tracking transactions. Also, it will improve dietary diversity, as people will be able to purchase healthy foods like fruits and vegetables instead of corns and flour that are always provided by aid agencies. Hence, the technology will significantly assist in reducing hunger problem in Haiti.
E-Card has successfully been used by USAID to reduce the level of hunger in various countries, especially those facing human-made or natural crises. For instance, WFP is using the technology to distribute food to Syrian refugees who are living in Jordan (WFP, 2017). As a result, the refugees can conveniently access foods that are available in the local market, leading to reduced hunger. Besides, the cost of implementing the technology depends on the number of food recipients. However, it can cost about $10,000 for 100 people receiving food donation or aid.
Lastly, Karim (2014) argues that the technology should be maintained and implemented by USAID for it to be effective in meeting its objectives. Specifically, USAID should use its technical experts to manage and implement the technology. Nevertheless, WFP is one of the potential collaborators that can share the cost of implementing and maintaining the technology. WFP initiated the technology, and it has experience in its implementation, making it the best potential collaborator.
In conclusion, E-Card is one of the technologies that USAID can use to address the problem of hunger in Haiti. People can only become self-reliant and lead their development journey if they are empowered to make their own decisions. Therefore, E-Card will give Haitians to decide on the food they want to consumes, which is in line with USAID's purpose and mission of making needy people self-reliant (Karim, 2014). E-Card has been implemented in many countries, and USAID can use it to reduce the problem of hunger in Haiti.
References
Karim, A. (2014). 9 Things to Know about WFP’s E-Cards . Retrieved from https://wfpusa.org/articles/9-things-to-know-about-e-vouchers/#
USAID. (2018). Mission, Vision, and Values . Retrieved from https://www.usaid.gov/who-we-are/mission-vision-values
World Food Program (WFP). (2018). Haiti. Retrieved from http://www1.wfp.org/countries/haiti
World Food Program (WFP). (2017). 7 Tech Innovations Changing the Global Hunger Conversation . Retrieved from https://medium.com/@WFPUSA/7-tech-innovations- changing-the-global-hunger-conversation-720660b3c73c
