Nigeria’s northeast is facing a tightening hunger gap, say aid organisations, pointing to two years of missed crop harvests in what was once a breadbasket for the country, and the high likelihood of missing a third. [...] The UN says it needs $1.5 billion (€1.4 billion) in humanitarian aid this year for the Lake Chad region – which spreads across parts of Nigeria, Niger, Cameroon and Chad – and $457 million had been pledged for 2017 by late February.

Global momentum on food security and nutrition continues to grow. In October, we submitted the new U.S. Government Global Food Security Strategy to Congress, outlining a plan for how the United States will contribute to the global call to eradicate poverty and hunger.

The programs taught mothers, fathers and others in the family with child-rearing responsibilities the importance of good nutrition, and how to better care for their children. USAID partners mentored families to ensure more frequent health clinic visits, helped them access healthy food through temporary food transfers, and provided cooking demonstrations to expand use of locally available nutritious foods.

This week many world leaders came together in New York City for the GODAN Summit to examine progress that has been made and challenges that remain in the global fight to end hunger. The U.S. Department of State’s Special Representative for Global Food Security, Dr. Nancy Stetson, joined the conference to talk about new innovations in food security and the use of data. 

One small "hashtag" fueled by a big dream has spread from the West Coast to the East Coast, inspiring everyone -- kids, parents, even celebrities -- to pack lunchbags for those in need. The idea behind this nationwide grassroots movement, dubbed Hashtag Lunchbag, is quite simple: Gather a group of your friends to pack lunches, pass those lunches out to people living on the streets of your neighborhood, and then document your efforts on Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram to inspire others to do the same.