Indian Ocean Earthquake and Tsunami: Food Aid Needs and the U.S. Response

Publication Date: April 2005

Publisher: Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service

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Research Area: International relations

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Abstract:

On December 26, 2004, an undersea earthquake of magnitude 9.0 off the coast of Aceh Province (Sumatra) in Indonesia set off a series of large tidal waves across the Indian Ocean region.1 In all, 12 countries were hit by wave surges, with the brunt of the impact in coastal communities in Indonesia, the Maldives, Sri Lanka, and Thailand. The death toll has been estimated at 140,000-200,000. An estimated 2 million people are in urgent need of food aid. Thus far, the United States, other countries, and international organizations have pledged over $4 billion in emergency assistance. The U.S. pledged contribution, including food aid valued at $34.6 million, currently stands at $350 million. H.R. 1268, the FY2005 Emergency Supplemental Appropriations Act, which passed the House on March 16, 2005, provides an additional $656 million for tsunami relief, some of which could be used for food aid. The Senate appropriations committee reported its version of FY2005 emergency supplemental appropriations with the same amount for tsunami relief.

Prior to the Indian Ocean disaster, U.S. and global food aid resources were facing considerable demand for emergency food aid to respond to urgent needs, especially in sub-Saharan Africa. Congress may be confronted with a number of interrelated food aid issues early in the 109th Congress, including reconciling emergency and non-emergency uses of food aid, determining the U.S. share of global food aid for tsunami victims as well as other food-insecure people in Africa and elsewhere, and funding alternatives for U.S. emergency and non-emergency food aid. This report will be updated.