STWR - Share The World's Resources

The food crisis is threatening to "destroy years, if not decades, of economic progress" as "100 million people are being pushed back into absolute poverty", according to former UN secretary-general Kofi Annan.

Africa has risen steadily in importance to the United States in recent years. Traditionally, Africa has been thought of primarily as an object of humanitarian concern. That perception has been highlighted by popular figures, such as Bono, Bob Geldof, George Clooney and others, focusing public attention on Africa's poverty, conflicts and major diseases. Africa has further captured worldwide attention due to the conflict in Darfur. Because the United States has judged the Sudanese government's campaign in the region to be genocide, the conflict has taken on enormous moral importance.