President Obama Pushes for Food Security at G8 and Pledges New Partnership with Africa in Ghana
July 14, 2009

Poverty and development were at the forefront of the president’s recent meetings in Italy and in Ghana. At the G8 meetings, the United States was instrumental in securing a $20 billion commitment from global leaders in support of greater food security and agricultural development. Notably, the U.S. pledge included some new money as well as a policy shift to complement ongoing emergency food assistance with longer-term investments in improving agricultural productivity in poor countries.

The true sign of success is not whether we are a source of aid that helps people scrape by - it is whether we are partners in building the capacity for transformational change.
-President Obama

In his post-summit speech to the Ghanaian parliament, Obama pledged a firm U.S. commitment to work in partnership with Africa and to support those governments that are ruling justly and creating economic opportunity for their people. IGD is greatly encouraged by both of these commitments and looks forward to working with the administration to advance its global development agenda.