By 
President Joe Biden on Wednesday is announcing more than $2.9 billion in new assistance from the U.S. government to address global food insecurity, building on the $6.9 billion in American aid already committed this year, according to the White House.
“The compounding impacts of the pandemic, the deepening climate crisis, rising energy and fertilizer costs, and protracted conflicts — including Russia’s invasion of Ukraine — have disrupted global supply chains and dramatically increased global food prices,” the White House said in a statement released ahead of Biden’s speech before the U.N. General Assembly in New York City, where the president is also expected to rebuke Russia over its invasion of Ukraine.
His speech is slated to come around 10:35 a.m. Eastern.
“A multi-year drought in the Horn of Africa has created a dire humanitarian emergency, with parts of Somalia at risk of famine for the second time in just over a decade,” the White House also said. “This new announcement of $2.9 billion will save lives through emergency interventions and invest in medium- to long-term food-security assistance in order to protect the world’s most vulnerable populations from the escalating global food-security crisis.”
The U.S., along with the European Union and African Union, held a global food-security summit on Tuesday.
U.S. stocks
SPX,
+0.59%
DJIA,
+0.58%
traded higher Wednesday, with investors waiting for the Federal Reserve to announce the size of its latest interest-rate hike as the American central bank aims to rein in high inflation.
Now read: High fuel costs will continue to contribute to the rise in food prices
Comments