Will the lessons of responding to the famine in the Horn of Africa be learned for the Sahel?

January 25th, 2012

Another famine is looming in Africa’s Sahel region – the third drought in the area in the last 10 years.  And the big question facing the international community is whether the lessons of not responding soon enough to the drought in the Horn will be learned – and acted upon – here.

We know already that the European Union has taken a lead.  And DFID has announced that it is sending therapeutic food to help 68,000 children in Chad, Mali and Niger, three of the countries worst affected by poor harvests.

The UK is also providing aid for fodder and vaccinations to keep livestock alive, so that 30,000 people can continue to feed themselves despite the drought. The UK will support a further 47,000 people through direct transfers, such as food, to the very poorest families.  This will prevent them being forced to sell off their livestock and other possessions.

But others need to follow this lead since up to seven million people in the eight countries across the Sahel are facing food shortage and hunger.  The World Food Programme said it needs $163 million to provide assistance for some 3.3 million people in the region and UNICEF has appealed for an initial $65.7 million.

Following on from the last drought and famine in the Sahel, and the ongoing crisis in Somalia, Kenya and Ethiopia, there are widespread worries that ‘donor fatigue’ may have set in and that the required help will not be forthcoming.

Some British emergency aid is already reaching the region through the UN’s Central Emergency Response Fund – to which the UK is a major contributor.  The fund has so far released £7.8 million for initial humanitarian work in Niger and Chad.  But this is a small part of the nearly $230 million that is said to be needed now.

 

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Comments are closed.