H. Con. Res. 102 Agreed to March 8, 2002

One Hundred Seventh Congress

of the

United States of America

AT THE SECOND SESSION

Begun and held at the City of Washington on Wednesday,

the twenty-third day of January, two thousand and two

Concurrent Resolution

Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate concurring),

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

This concurrent resolution may be cited as the ‘‘Hunger to

Harvest: Decade of Support for Sub-Saharan Africa Resolution’’.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

Congress finds the following:

(1) Despite some progress in recent years, sub-Saharan

Africa enters the new millennium with many of the world’s

poorest countries and is the one region of the world where

hunger is both pervasive and increasing.

(2) Thirty-three of the world’s 41 poorest debtor countries

are in sub-Saharan Africa and an estimated 291,000,000 people,

nearly one-half of sub-Saharan Africa’s total population, currently live in extreme poverty on less than $1 a day.

(3) One in three people in sub-Saharan Africa is chronically

undernourished, double the number of three decades ago. One

child out of seven dies before the age of five, and one-half

of these deaths are due to malnutrition.

(4) Sub-Saharan Africa is the region in the world most

affected by infectious disease, accounting for one-half of the

deaths worldwide from HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, malaria,

cholera, and several other diseases.

(5) Sub-Saharan Africa is home to 70 percent of adults,

and 80 percent of children, living with the HIV virus, and

75 percent of the people worldwide who have died of AIDS

lived in Africa.

(6) The HIV/AIDS pandemic has erased many of the

development gains of the past generation in sub-Saharan Africa

and now threatens to undermine economic and social progress

for the next generation, with life expectancy in parts of subSaharan Africa having already decreased by 10–20 years as

a result of AIDS.

(7) Despite these immense challenges, the number of subSaharan African countries that are moving toward open economies and more accountable governments has increased, and

these countries are beginning to achieve local solutions to their

common problems.

(8) To make lasting improvements in the lives of their

people, sub-Saharan Africa governments need support as they

act to solve conflicts, make critical investments in human

capacity and infrastructure, combat corruption, reform their
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economies, stimulate trade and equitable economic growth, and

build democracy.

(9) Despite sub-Saharan Africa’s enormous development

challenges, United States companies hold approximately

$12,800,000,000 in investments in sub-Saharan Africa, greater

than United States investments in either the Middle East or

Eastern Europe, and total United States trade with sub-Saharan Africa currently exceeds that with all of the independent

states of the former Soviet Union, including the Russian Federation. This economic relationship could be put at risk unless

additional public and private resources are provided to combat

poverty and promote equitable economic growth in sub-Saharan

Africa.

(10) Bread for the World Institute calculates that the goal

of reducing world hunger by one-half by 2015 is achievable

through an increase of $4,000,000,000 in annual funding from

all donors for poverty-focused development. If the United States

were to shoulder one-fourth of this aid burden—approximately

$1,000,000,000 a year—the cost to each United States citizen

would be one penny per day.

(11) Failure to effectively address sub-Saharan Africa’s

development needs could result in greater conflict and increased

poverty, heightening the prospect of humanitarian intervention

and potentially threatening a wide range of United States

interests in sub-Saharan Africa.

SEC. 3. SENSE OF CONGRESS.

It is the sense of Congress that—

(1) the United States should declare ‘‘A Decade of Support

for Sub-Saharan Africa’’;

(2) not later than 90 days after the date of adoption of

this concurrent resolution, the President should submit a report

to Congress setting forth a five-year strategy, and a ten-year

strategy, to achieve a reversal of current levels of hunger and

poverty in sub-Saharan Africa, including a commitment to contribute an appropriate United States share of increased

bilateral and multilateral poverty-focused resources for subSaharan Africa, with an emphasis on—

(A) health, including efforts to prevent, treat, and control HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, malaria, and other diseases

that contribute to malnutrition and hunger, and to promote

maternal health and child survival;

(B) education, with an emphasis on equal access to

learning for girls and women;

(C) agriculture, including strengthening subsistence

agriculture as well as the ability to compete in global

agricultural markets, and investment in infrastructure and

rural development;

(D) private sector and free market development, to

bring sub-Saharan Africa into the global economy, enable

people to purchase food, and make health and education

investments sustainable;

(E) democratic institutions and the rule of law,

including strengthening civil society and independent

judiciaries;

(F) micro-finance development; and
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(G) debt relief that provides incentives for sub-Saharan

African countries to invest in poverty-focused development,

and to expand democratic participation, free markets,

trade, and investment;

(3) the President should work with the heads of other

donor countries and sub-Saharan African countries, and with

United States and sub-Saharan African private and voluntary

organizations and other civic organizations, including faithbased organizations, to implement the strategies described in

paragraph (2);

(4) Congress should undertake a multi-year commitment

to provide the resources to implement those strategies; and

(5) 120 days after the date of adoption of this concurrent

resolution, and every year thereafter, the Administrator of the

United States Agency for International Development, in consultation with the heads of other appropriate Federal departments and agencies, should submit to Congress a report on

the implementation of those strategies, including the action

taken under paragraph (3), describing—

(A) the results of the implementation of those strategies

as of the date of the report, including the progress made

and any setbacks suffered;

(B) impediments to, and opportunities for, future

progress;

(C) proposed changes to those strategies, if any; and

(D) the role and extent of cooperation of the governments of sub-Saharan countries and other donors, both

public and private, in combating poverty and promoting

equitable economic development.

Attest:

Clerk of the House of Representatives.

Attest:

Secretary of the Senate.