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In the face of an impending famine, aid organizations denounce the failure of the global community.
One person dies every 48 seconds in the drought regions of East Africa. This is the estimate of the aid organizations Oxfam and Save the Children. In Somalia, Ethiopia and Kenya, the soil is drying up, people are starving and cattle are dying of thirst. The Horn of Africa is experiencing its worst drought in 40 years.
“The clock is ticking and every minute that passes is bringing starving children closer to death,” said Kijala Shako, regional spokesperson for Eastern and Southern Africa at Save the Children. Currently, 5.7 million children are acutely malnourished. The United Nations warns that more than 350,000 children could die in Somalia.
Urgent emergency call for help
In order to save lives now, the heads of state and government of the G7 and the West must immediately provide funds to meet the United Nations’ emergency call for emergency aid worth the equivalent of almost 4.2 billion euros for the countries in the Horn of Africa, according to the aid organizations. The call came at a meeting of G7 development ministers in Berlin on Wednesday.
Legend:
No water, parched fields, dead cattle: like here in Somalia, millions of people are acutely undernourished.
key stone
During the last major drought in 2011, almost 260,000 people died in Somalia alone. The report states that no lessons have been learned from the hesitation at the time in a similar situation.
Last November, the Somali government declared a national emergency in response to the ongoing drought. In February, the World Food Program (WFP) warned of acute food shortages in the affected countries.
“Hunger as a result of political failure”
“Despite the growing number of alarm signals, political leaders reacted too late and too little, leaving millions of people facing a catastrophe. Hunger is the result of political failure,” said Gabriela Bucher, executive director of Oxfam International.
Reactions to crises such as the war in Ukraine or Covid-19 show that the international community can successfully mobilize resources to reduce suffering – “but only if they have the firm will to do so.”
Legend:
Anna Lemmenmeier
SRF
Anna Lemmenmeier, SRF Africa correspondent: «The situation is dramatic. In January I was traveling in northern Kenya. Even then, animal carcasses were lying around everywhere because the cattle could no longer find water. But people could no longer sell their animals. Many of those affected told me at the time that they only eat once a day and then only corn porridge. There was no more milk for the children. Now, four months later, things have only gotten worse because it hasn’t rained again for months.
It would take more money and more support to help the starving immediately. But that will not solve the drought problem. When it comes to climate protection, the focus is on the countries of the North, which are primarily responsible for the climate crisis. Africa is only responsible for four percent of global greenhouse gas emissions, although significantly more people live here than in Europe, for example.
Africa has been hit hardest by the extreme droughts. Approaches are needed to better support the people in the affected areas. For example, shepherds could be supported through training to find an alternative way of life; but it would also need grain silos, reservoirs, alternative heating options so that there is less deforestation, which would help the soil. Of course, all of this takes money. It would be time for countries primarily responsible for the climate crisis to support weak countries like Somalia or Ethiopia.”