NEW YORK — Senior World Food Program officials yesterday defended their emergency request for $775 million to offset the high price of food and fuel, saying that the agency’s billion-dollar cash reserve has already been budgeted for programs and expenses.
A Fox News report yesterday questioned whether the Rome-based organization should be issuing such a large appeal when it is sitting on $1.22 billion and short-term investments.
Almost all of that money is already allocated, said Nancy Roman, director of public policy for the World Food Program (WFP), comparing the fund to a family’s bank account that will be used to pay for rent and groceries.
WFP, like many United Nations relief agencies, routinely issues unscheduled appeals to raise funds for emergencies. The $775 million appeal will be used to ease the hardship for an estimated 100 million people.
The organization, which is already active in 78 countries, has taken the lead in the effort to head off a global hunger crisis, as the price of rice, flour, dairy and other staples has ballooned out of reach of the world’s poorest people.
Nearly 40 countries have experienced food-related riots in the past month, most of them in Africa and South Asia. In fiscal year 2008, the Bush administration has requested a total of $770 million in new food-related aid, much of which will be considered under the farm bill that Congress will take up. Historically, the United States has been the largest contributor of food commodities and cash.
Ms. Roman brusquely defended the appeal, as well as the organization’s bookkeeping.
If an auditor were to get tough with us, it would be for not having a big enough reserve, she said.
The program keeps a $41 million reserve fund to handle natural disasters that require immediate start-up in a ravaged community. Another $51 million in cash is on hand to provide bridge loans to keep operational programs that are threatened by circumstance.
Most of that money could go out the door tomorrow, yes, said Ms. Roman. But could we drain it? We could, but then with the next earthquake or tsunami, reporters will say ’You don’t have one dollar on hand?’ We’re trying to build a system that is responsible and has buffers and cushions.
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