Cindy McCain: 'We need to learn how to do more with less'

Newly appointed director of the World Food Programme Cindy McCain said this coming year will be tough financially for the international community responding to the global food crisis as the war in Ukraine shows no sign of abating and countries experience exacerbating effects of climate change. “We're not going to get the kind of funding this year that we got last year. Last year was unprecedented. So now we're going to have to be a little more creative in how we spend our monies in these various agencies,” McCain said during a Devex event at South by Southwest. “We need to learn how to do more with less.” McCain, who currently serves as the U.S. ambassador to the Rome-based United Nations agencies, takes over as head of WFP on April 5, when David Beasley leaves office. As food prices have been driven higher by Russia’s war with Ukraine, conflicts in places such as Yemen and South Sudan, weather-related disasters, and a global economic downturn, agencies such as WFP have had to make tough choices about where to cut back on rations to hungry people. Even with Beasley’s record fundraising — $14.2 billion — the agency has been unable to keep up with skyrocketing needs. McCain will face pressure to maintain funding levels as financial strain on the humanitarian response system increases. Those conversations won’t be new to her. Since Russia invaded Ukraine early last year, McCain has focused her efforts as ambassador on mobilizing additional donors to support WFP and other agencies' search for a way to respond to the food crisis and feed the estimated 345.2 million people who will be food insecure this year. “Part of what we've been doing too from a diplomatic standpoint now is putting pressure on other parts of the globe — and I'll speak to the Middle East particularly — to step it up. You know we can't do it all. You can't rely on the United States for everything,” McCain said, noting that the U.S. spent $13.5 billion on humanitarian assistance worldwide last year while areas like the Middle East and China have pledged a fraction of Western countries. “I don't think the United States has adequately made the case to our Middle Eastern friends on why it's important.” The case needs to be made in “a much more forceful manner” because the U.S. cannot keep giving at current funding levels, she said, calling them “not sustainable.” McCain also derided the Russian government for continuing to slow Ukrainian grain leaving the country. The current agreement governing exports expires on March 17, but Russia has indicated it would agree to a 60-day extension. Innovation is also important so science and technology can be used to help existing resources reach additional people, McCain said, as well as “[giving] countries a better shot at trying to feed themselves.” “The private sector plays a very minimal role in a lot of this, and it's time that we — we meaning the United States especially — encourage our private partnerships with companies,” McCain said.