Ertharin Cousin Quotes

Powerful Ertharin Cousin for Daily Growth

About Ertharin Cousin

Ertharin Cousin, an accomplished humanitarian and diplomat, was born on October 19, 1958, in the small town of Greenville, Mississippi. Raised by her grandmother who instilled in her the values of hard work, faith, and resilience, Cousin's early life was marked by poverty and adversity. However, these challenges only served to fuel her determination to create a better future. Cousin pursued her education at Tougaloo College and later earned a Master's degree in Public Affairs from the University of Texas at Austin. Her career began in the private sector, working for Procter & Gamble and the Coca-Cola Company. Yet, it was her passion for service that led her to join the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) in 1993. Throughout her tenure at USAID, Cousin rose through the ranks, serving as Mission Director in various countries such as Haiti and Kenya. In 2011, she was appointed as the Executive Director of the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP), becoming the first African-American and the first woman to hold this position. Under her leadership, WFP provided assistance to over 80 million people in more than 75 countries. Ertharin Cousin is known for her bold and innovative approach to humanitarian aid. She has been instrumental in advocating for policies that prioritize food security and nutrition, particularly for women and children. One of her most significant contributions is the creation of the "School Meals Initiative," a program that provides meals to schoolchildren in developing countries, thereby increasing school attendance rates and improving educational outcomes. Today, Ertharin Cousin continues to be a powerful voice for those who are marginalized and overlooked. Her inspiring story serves as a testament to the power of determination, resilience, and the transformative impact of service.

Interpretations of Popular Quotes

"The world has enough food for everyone. No person in our global family should go to bed hungry."

This quote emphasizes the universal truth that there is sufficient food on Earth to provide for every individual's basic nutritional needs. It underscores the belief that no one, regardless of their geographical location or socio-economic status, should experience hunger or food insecurity. The statement calls attention to the moral and humanitarian necessity of ensuring equal access to food resources globally, as a means to uphold humanity's shared values of compassion, justice, and solidarity.


"Food security is the pathway from poverty, conflict and fragility to peace and stability."

The quote underscores that food security plays a vital role in breaking the cycle of poverty, instability, and conflict. By ensuring people have consistent access to nutritious food, it reduces the stress associated with scarcity and hunger, allowing them to focus on other essential aspects of life, such as education, employment, and community development. This, in turn, fosters peace and stability by creating opportunities for social and economic growth.


"We must think differently about hunger – not just as a symptom of poverty, but as a driver of instability."

Ertharin Cousin's quote suggests that we should shift our perspective on hunger from merely seeing it as a consequence of poverty, to recognizing it as a significant factor contributing to global instability. In other words, the consequences of widespread hunger can have far-reaching impacts beyond individual communities, potentially destabilizing entire regions or even nations. Addressing the root causes of hunger (such as conflict, economic inequality, and lack of access to resources) is crucial for maintaining peace and stability in the world.


"When a country is able to feed itself, it's more stable, it's more secure, it's more peaceful."

The quote suggests that food security, the ability of a nation to produce or access sufficient food, contributes significantly to overall stability, security, and peace. When a country is self-reliant in food production, it reduces dependency on external aid, stabilizes its economy, and minimizes potential conflicts over resources. This self-sufficiency strengthens a nation's resilience against external shocks, leading to increased domestic tranquility and stability.


"The world we want is one where every woman, man and child leads a healthy life free from hunger and all forms of violence; where there is the social, economic and political empowerment of all women and girls; and where there is more justice for the most vulnerable."

Ertharin Cousin's quote envisions a world where every individual enjoys good health and nutrition, free from hunger and violence. It emphasizes social, economic, and political empowerment of women and girls as crucial for this ideal society. Lastly, it calls for justice to be served to the most vulnerable members of our global community. In essence, Cousin's vision embodies a future where all people live with equal opportunities, dignity, and respect.


We recognize that the majority of people who are food-insecure or hungry in the world live in rural areas. And most of them are small holder subsistence farmers.

- Ertharin Cousin

Small, Rural, Them, Subsistence

The majority of small-holder farmers in Africa are women and, in urban areas, you're primarily looking at women-led households. So we can't solve hunger if we don't have gender-sensitive programming that addresses access to opportunities for women, whether it's through education or tools for cooking, like solar-powered stoves.

- Ertharin Cousin

Education, Through, Access, Households

I consider myself a persuasive person. With the ability to persuade comes a certain level of power.

- Ertharin Cousin

Person, Level, Persuasive, Certain Level

Our goals and what we hope to achieve by moving to food assistance is even in supporting the crisis needs of the most vulnerable people, we provide them with the capacity to be more resilient to the next shock.

- Ertharin Cousin

Crisis, Next, Needs, Supporting

Too often, as a global community of humanitarians, we meet the needs of the same families, the same individuals, the same communities crisis after crisis, when we are focused on meeting crisis needs but not on building resilience.

- Ertharin Cousin

Crisis, Needs, Often, Communities

Unfortunately, the world pays attention when the media shines a light on those in need, which is why it's so important that we maintain the global public will that is necessary to meet the needs of those we serve.

- Ertharin Cousin

Needs, Shines, Which, Pays

The people in the United States are some of the most generous people in the world. We saw it in Haiti. We saw it with Katrina. When devastation strikes, American people want to step up.

- Ertharin Cousin

Some, Haiti, United States, Strikes

Don't ever take a seven-year-old with you to a campaign dinner - they will embarrass you no end.

- Ertharin Cousin

Will, Ever, Take, Campaign

When you're providing emergency aid, you're fighting hunger; you're filling stomachs.

- Ertharin Cousin

Fighting, Filling, Providing, Hunger

When people are hungry, when a mother or father is facing a child that they can't feed, you can't ask that family to lay down their arms.

- Ertharin Cousin

Father, Lay, Facing, Feed

One of my strengths is my ability to talk and communicate with people.

- Ertharin Cousin

Talk, Communicate, Ability, Strengths

I'm lucky. As soon as I open my mouth, people see I know what I'm talking about, and when I leave the room, I think most say, 'She's OK.'

- Ertharin Cousin

Think, Lucky, I Think, Mouth

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