FACT BRIEF

Could 3% of US military spending end global starvation?

Tuesday, January 11, 2022

By Jacob Alabab-Moser

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YES

A United Nations agency calculates that global starvation could be significantly ameliorated with less than 1% of the sum the U.S. annually spends on its military.

The World Food Program, the food-assistance branch of the U.N., released a plan last November to combat famine. It identified 42 million people across 43 countries at risk of starvation and found that it would cost $6.6 billion to feed each of them "one meal a day, the basic needed to survive," for one year. This price tag is 0.9% of the latest U.S. military budget of $768.2 billion.

A broader study published in October 2020 found that it would require $33 billion a year to end hunger globally—about 4% of the U.S. military budget.

The UN agency noted that hunger is on the rise due to "widespread conflicts, growing climate crises and the economic fallout of COVID- 19," increasing 110% from 2019.

This fact brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.

Sources

UN World Food Program WFP's plan to support 42 million people on the brink of famine

Ceres2030 Donors must double aid to end hunger

Federal News Network Biden signs $768.2 billion defense spending bill into law

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