Biden is going to announce $2.9 billion in food security at the United Nations, according to Reuters

By Steve Holland

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) – President Joe Biden will announce $2.9 billion in additional U.S. aid as he addresses world leaders at the United Nations General Assembly on Wednesday, the White House said.

The new money will build on $6.9 billion in U.S. food security funding this year, the White House said. Biden is expected to rebuke Russia’s war in Ukraine during a speech at the United Nations in New York.

The United States has intensified its focus on food security since the February 24 Russian invasion of Ukraine, which exacerbated the global food crisis caused by climate change and the Covid-19 pandemic. Russia and Ukraine are major grain and fertilizer exporters and shipments have been disrupted by the war.

The UN says the conflict has pushed another 47 million people into “acute starvation”.

Biden’s announcement comes as the United States and Western allies compete for diplomatic influence with Russia. The United States has warned some countries that the Ukraine war has drawn world attention away from other crises.

“This new $2.9 billion announcement will invest in medium- and long-term food security assistance to save lives through emergency interventions and protect the world’s most vulnerable populations from the global food insecurity crisis,” the White House said in a briefing.