Mercy Corps Welcomes the Biden Administration’s Increased Investments in Humanitarian Assistance

In response to President Biden’s request for fiscal year (FY) 2022 discretionary funding today, Mercy Corps' Vice President for Policy and Research, Dafna Rand, issued the following statement:

“We applaud the Biden-Harris Administration’s 12 percent increase in requested funding for the State Department and other international programs, including a $400 million increase in funding for humanitarian assistance and quadrupling support for international climate programs. Robust support for humanitarian, development, and peacebuilding assistance, which provides a lifeline for millions of people around the world, is needed more urgently now than ever given the spiraling effects of COVID-19 on food insecurity, poverty, and conflict. 

“A record 235 million people globally will require humanitarian assistance in 2021 — a 40 percent increase over pre-pandemic levels. Global hunger is on the rise, as the World Food Program predicts that an additional 121 million people could be food insecure by the end of 2021, and extreme poverty is up for the first time in two decades. 

“We urge Congress to adopt the President’s proposed budget and provide increased funding for the State Department and U.S. Agency for International Development humanitarian, development, and peacebuilding accounts. Over the past decade, U.S. assistance for these critically important accounts has remained stagnant, despite increasing need. While Congress has provided support for global assistance in the COVID-19 supplemental packages, including the American Rescue Plan, this will not be enough to address the pandemic’s myriad health and ripple effects, particularly on hunger, poverty, gender inequality and violence. The only way out of this crisis is through committed, sustained, and scaled support. We encourage the Biden Administration and Congress to extend its proposed increase in humanitarian assistance to the development and peacebuilding accounts in FY22 that will help meet immediate needs and provide communities with the tools they need to build back and withstand future crises.”