No free lunches

The Bush Administration is cutting back funds to organizations that provide emergency as well as long-term food relief to areas around the world, such as Sudan, reeling from a protracted civil war. This decision comes amid a confluence of crises. This year there are more countries in dire need of assistance, while at the same time the U.S. budget is strained. What money is available will be directed to emergency services, a situation which, said an unnamed administration official to the NY Times, is short-sighted. While war is a temporary crisis, a lack of infrastructure (irrigation, proper land management, etc.) will only create more problems in the future.

Catholic Relief Services, one of the many organizations affected by the cutbacks, explains how short-term relief does not equate long-term reconstruction. During the 2003 famine in Ethiopia, the U.S. directed more than $500 million towards emergency food relief, but only $5 million in training for farmers to better their fields for the future. Today, there are still food shortages in that country.