State Department to open new hunger, food security office

The Department of State on Wednesday announced it is opening a "new office on hunger and food security," Politico's Laura Rozen writes on her blog.

"Amb. Patricia Haslach, a former assistant chief of mission at the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad, will serve as the deputy coordinator for diplomacy, and William Garvelink, U.S. ambassador to the Democratic Republic of Congo, will serve as the deputy coordinator for development, in the new office, starting in May, according to a memo issued by the secretary of state's office today," the blog writes. According to a State Department memo, included in the blog, Haslach and Garvelink will help lead "the President's 'Feed the Future' initiative to combat global hunger and tackle the multiple causes of food insecurity and will jointly oversee implementation of the initiative."

Rozen writes: "The deputies' 'diplomacy' and 'development' titles suggest that they and their new office are linked to the forthcoming Quadrennial Diplomacy and Development Review" (4/7).